A traveller pitch application: what the evidence must show
Traveller site applications run on their own national policy, with its own definitions and its own tests. The evidence that decides them is need, layout and flood risk, in that order.
A traveller pitch planning application is determined against national planning policy for traveller sites, which sits alongside the National Planning Policy Framework rather than inside it, and against the authority's own pitch provision position. That combination applies to no other form of residential development, and it is the reason applications that look weak on ordinary housing policy can succeed, and applications that look strong can fail.
Three things carry most of the weight: whether the applicant meets the policy definition, whether the authority can demonstrate a supply of deliverable sites, and whether the site works on flood risk and access.
The national policy for traveller sites and the definitions it uses
The separate policy document sets out how plans should identify pitch requirements and how applications should be determined. Its annex defines who the policy applies to, and that definition has changed.
Following litigation about the treatment of those who no longer travel, the definition was amended in December 2023 so that people who have ceased to travel permanently can still fall within it, where they would otherwise meet the description. Before that, the wording excluded them, and a substantial body of decisions turned on it. If you are working from an older copy of the policy or an older appeal decision, check the wording as it now stands.
The practical consequence is that status evidence still matters but is no longer the trap it was. Expect the authority to ask for it: a history of travelling, evidence of the family's pattern of movement, school and health records, and evidence of any cessation and its reason, usually age, ill health or the education of children.
Where an applicant does not meet the definition, the application is determined as ordinary residential development in the countryside, which is a much harder test. Say clearly at the outset which basis you are applying on. The wider policy context and the evidence base are set out in traveller site planning applications: policy, need and evidence.
Demonstrating need and the authority's pitch provision position
National policy requires authorities to identify a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years' worth of sites against locally set targets. Where they cannot, that failure is a material consideration of substance when determining applications, and in particular when considering temporary permissions.
So the first research task is not the site. It is the authority's own evidence base:
- The most recent gypsy and traveller accommodation assessment, its date and its pitch requirement.
- The pitch target in the adopted local plan or any traveller sites plan.
- The authority's published position on five year supply for traveller sites, which is often absent or out of date.
- Any allocated sites, and whether they have come forward.
Where there is no up to date assessment and no allocated deliverable sites, say so plainly and evidence it. An authority that cannot show where an applicant family is supposed to go is in a weak position to refuse.
Personal need evidence matters alongside general need. The size of the family, their current accommodation and why it is unsuitable, children of school age and where they are enrolled, and any health needs that require settled accommodation. This engages the authority's duties around equality and the best interests of children, which are material considerations that officers must address in the report.
Site layout, amenity blocks and utility provision
Layout is where applications are won on the drawings rather than the argument.
A pitch is normally planned around a mobile home, space for a touring caravan, parking for two vehicles, and an amenity building containing a bathroom and a kitchen or utility space. Separation distances between pitches matter for fire safety, and authorities apply published guidance on spacing between caravans.
What a good layout shows:
- Each pitch clearly defined, with its own amenity block and parking.
- Circulation wide enough for a towed caravan to manoeuvre and for a fire appliance to enter and turn.
- Foul drainage, with a package treatment plant and discharge arrangements where no mains connection exists.
- Water supply and electricity connections.
- Refuse storage and a collection point a vehicle can reach.
- Boundary treatment and planting that provides privacy without walling the site off.
- Any area for the keeping of horses or for business use shown separately, because mixed uses complicate the description of development.
Scale is a planning issue in its own right. National policy discourages very large sites and favours sites that are well planned and landscaped, so a scheme of three or four pitches is usually easier to justify than a scheme of fifteen in the same location. Set out the design rationale in the Design and Access Statement rather than leaving the layout to speak for itself.
Flood risk and why it matters on many proposed sites
This is the issue that defeats more traveller site applications than any other, and it is often discovered late.
Caravans, mobile homes and park homes intended for permanent residential use are classified as highly vulnerable development for flood risk purposes. That classification is stricter than for houses. Highly vulnerable development should not be permitted in the functional floodplain, and in the high probability zone it requires the exception test to be passed.
Land available to traveller site applicants is frequently land nobody else wanted, which correlates strongly with flood risk. Check the flood zone before any other work, using the national flood map for planning, and check surface water risk separately because the zones do not cover it.
Where the site is in a higher flood zone, a Flood Risk Assessment has to address the sequential test, the exception test if it applies, finished floor levels, safe access and egress during a design flood event, and a flood warning and evacuation plan. Safe access is the point inspectors focus on, because a caravan site with a single low access track has no dry route out.
Be realistic. If the site sits in the functional floodplain, no amount of mitigation will make it acceptable, and the money is better spent finding another site.
Access, visibility and highway safety
Highway objections on these applications usually concern visibility at the access and the suitability of the approach for towed caravans.
Measure the visibility splays against the standard for the recorded speed of the road, not the posted limit, and commission a speed survey where the two are likely to differ. Where the splay crosses land outside the applicant's control, say how it will be secured, because an undeliverable splay is a refusal reason.
Show the swept path for a vehicle and touring caravan entering and leaving, and for a refuse vehicle. Where the lane is narrow, identify passing places and whether they are within the highway.
Sustainability of location is a related point. National policy expects sites to have reasonable access to services, and distance from a school, a shop and a surgery will be assessed. It is rarely decisive on its own for a small site, but it is frequently cited in refusals alongside other reasons.
Landscape and countryside considerations
Sites in the open countryside engage the usual restraint policies, and in the Green Belt national traveller policy treats new sites as inappropriate development, requiring very special circumstances.
Where landscape harm is in issue, the answers are practical: keeping the number of pitches low, using existing hedges and topography, siting amenity blocks to screen caravans from the main views, avoiding hard urban materials for surfacing and boundaries, and proposing planting that matches the local field pattern. Lighting should be minimal and specified, because column lighting on an open site is visible for a long way at night.
Set out the case in the Planning Statement, dealing with policy conflict honestly and then addressing what weighs the other way: unmet need, the absence of alternatives, the personal circumstances of the family, and the best interests of any children.
Temporary and personal permissions and how they work
Where the principle is finely balanced, a temporary permission is a common outcome, particularly where the authority cannot demonstrate a five year supply and a plan review is under way that might allocate sites.
A personal permission restricts occupation to a named person or family, so the benefit does not run with the land. Authorities often prefer it because it limits the precedent. Applicants should think about the consequences: a personal permission has limited value on sale and may be difficult to mortgage.
Two practical points. A temporary permission is not a rehearsal. Conditions requiring removal of caravans and restoration at the end of the period are enforceable, and an application to renew is determined on the circumstances as they then are. And where a temporary permission is granted pending a plan review, keep evidence of your engagement with that review, because it becomes relevant at renewal.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval. Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports a site like this is likely to need.
Frequently asked questions
Which policy decides a traveller pitch application?
National planning policy for traveller sites, which sits alongside the National Planning Policy Framework, together with the development plan and the authority's pitch provision evidence. The separate policy has its own definitions and its own approach to temporary permissions, so an application argued only under general housing policy misses the relevant tests.
Does the applicant have to still be travelling?
Not since the definition was amended in December 2023, which removed the exclusion of those who had ceased to travel permanently. Status evidence is still expected, covering the family's travelling history and the reason for any cessation, but permanent cessation no longer takes an applicant outside the policy by itself.
Why does flood risk matter so much on these sites?
Caravans and mobile homes for permanent residential use are classified as highly vulnerable development, a stricter category than housing. They should not be permitted in the functional floodplain and require the exception test in the high probability zone. Land available for traveller sites often carries flood risk, so check the flood zone first.
What is a personal permission?
A permission limited by condition to occupation by a named person or family, so the benefit does not pass with the land. Authorities use it to limit precedent where the principle is finely balanced. Applicants should weigh that against the effect on the value of the land and on the ability to raise finance against it.
How does five year supply affect the decision?
Where the authority cannot demonstrate a supply of deliverable sites against its own target, that is a material consideration of substance, and national policy gives it particular weight when temporary permissions are being considered. Research the authority's published position early, because it is frequently out of date or missing altogether.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.