A traveller caravan appeal in Swale has succeeded after an Inspector overturned enforcement against a third static caravan at an established family site in Newington. The decision permits three static caravans within a four-caravan overall limit.
Inspector T C King issued his decision on 29 October 2026 concerning Fir View, off London Road near Sittingbourne. Swale Borough Council had served an enforcement notice in March 2024 because an existing permission allowed four caravans in total but only two to be static caravans or mobile homes.
The traveller caravan appeal matters beyond this particular family because it applies the August 2026 National Planning Policy Framework to an established Traveller site. The Inspector considered family circumstances, the claimed shortage of pitches and the limited visual impact of the extra caravan rather than treating the original cap as immovable.
Why the traveller caravan appeal arose
The 2018 permission, granted under application 16/508699/FULL, allowed the residential Traveller site with a specific restriction: no more than four caravans could be stationed on the land, and no more than two could be static caravans or mobile homes. That distinction matters. The overall numerical limit and the limit on static caravans were separate parts of one condition.
Two static caravans were subsequently occupied by younger relatives of the original applicant. In 2022 another member of the same family moved into a third static caravan. Swale’s enforcement notice sought compliance with the existing condition by reducing the number of static units, rather than alleging that the entire previously permitted site was unauthorised.
The appeal was pursued on ground (a) under section 174 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. That allowed the Inspector to consider whether planning permission should be granted in respect of the breach, including whether the disputed condition should continue to restrict the site in its original form. It was not a finding that the extra caravan had automatically become lawful through the passage of time.
How the revised Traveller policy affected the case
The traveller caravan appeal was assessed against the National Planning Policy Framework published on 17 August 2026. Its traveller-site policy, HO12, now incorporates the relevant national approach previously found in the separate Planning Policy for Traveller Sites. The Inspector also considered policy S5, which addresses development outside settlements.
Planning Geek’s guidance on Gypsy and Traveller sites explains the distinction between a residential pitch, permission for the site and the separate controls that may regulate its occupation. The national policy recognises that the traditional residential and working patterns of Traveller households can make some locations acceptable even where ordinary residential development would face different objections.
The appellant relied on a Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment said to identify a shortage of 80 pitches in Swale. The decision records that the council did not answer that particular assessment in its appeal submissions. It would therefore be wrong to present the 80 pitches as an independently established finding by the Inspector. He expressly reasoned that, even if a five-year supply could be demonstrated, this proposal involved one additional pitch at an existing site.
The earlier council assessment had accepted the site as a windfall opportunity for a family-related Traveller use, despite recognising some countryside impact. Inspector King considered that the development remained supported by the relevant Swale Local Plan policy, DM10. He also referred to DM14 and to the updated national policy framework.
Why the third static caravan was acceptable
At his site visit the Inspector observed a tidy, low-key site with a clear separation between the pitches. The extra unit did not materially change the wider character of the land. He was satisfied that it would be impractical to accommodate more static caravans than the three present.
In explaining the outcome, Inspector King wrote: It is reasonable, in the circumstances, to allow for a third static caravan to be stationed on the land
. This is an extract from the Planning Inspectorate decision, reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
That physical judgement was central to the traveller caravan appeal. The Inspector found the additional caravan had a negligible effect on the landscape and its character, alongside the continuing family-related use of an already permitted site. He did not conclude that all expansions of Traveller accommodation are acceptable, or that a local authority can never limit the number of caravans on an approved site.
What the new planning condition actually permits
The traveller caravan appeal resulted in the enforcement notice being quashed, the old condition being discharged and a replacement condition imposed through the deemed planning application. The replacement still allows a maximum of four caravans at any one time, but increases the permissible number of static caravans or mobile homes from two to three.
This is an important distinction from unrestricted permission. The site’s other conditions remain applicable so far as they can continue to operate, and the decision does not approve a fifth caravan or further pitches beyond those considered. Practitioners should always read the revised condition alongside the original planning permission.
For a council or applicant dealing with a disputed caravan limit, the traveller caravan appeal demonstrates how a ground (a) enforcement challenge can reopen the planning merits of a condition in the circumstances of a specific case. The evidence of actual use, site capacity and current traveller need will generally carry more weight than broad assertions about what other sites have been allowed.
Decision and sources
The appeal was determined as APP/V2255/C/24/3341780 on 29 October 2026 by Inspector T C King. The official Planning Inspectorate record contains the authoritative decision and the wording of the replacement condition. The appeal decision is also available on AppealBase.
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