Non-travellers to be removed from mobile park site

A council has won an appeal to have those not in the travelling community leave a mobile park site which had also breached its limit for caravan numbers by more than double.

Greenacres Mobile Park, at Semington, near Melksham in Wiltshire, is a designated Traveller site and has planning permission for 28 caravans but Wiltshire Council identified 77 caravans at the site.

Council officials served an enforcement notice to the site's owner in February 2025 which required them to reduce the number of pitches and remove non-travellers from the site within nine months from 2 April.

The owner appealed but that has been dismissed by the government's planning inspectorate.

There is one change to the enforcement - the period for reducing back to 14 pitches has been extended from 18 months to 24 months, which recognises that families and children are on the site.

It aligns with the date of the appeal - which means non-travellers need to leave by the end of August 2026 and pitches need to be reduced by the end of November 2027.

Councillor Adrian Foster said: "We're pleased that the independent Planning Inspector has decided to dismiss this appeal.

"It's a great result that reflects the hard work of our planning enforcement team.

"While we recognise the challenges faced by some residents, it is vital that these planning conditions are respected."

He added that the council would be providing advice and support to those affected.

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