Residents' fury as illegal traveller site that sprang up with fences and gates over a Bank Holiday weekend is allowed to stay until 2029

Published: 10:05, 5 June 2026 | Updated: 10:11, 5 June 2026 Furious villagers have said travellers are 'hiding behind' their culture to 'avoid obeying the law' after an illegal site next to a beauty spot was given permission to stay until 2029. A Government planning inspector allowed an appeal for the camp in Blaby, Leicestershire, to remain because removing it would 'take away a settled base' for the traveller household there. Travellers illegally erected fences and gates on the site when they arrived over the August bank holiday weekend last year. Their retrospective planning application was refused by Blaby District Council's planning committee in November last year but the decision was overturned on appeal in April. Melissa Madge, of the Government's Planning Inspectorate, said she had to consider the best interests of the three children living on the site, aged 12, eight and three. She said the family had a 'settled base' and 'may potentially need to resort to living on the roadside' if they were kicked out, disrupting the children's education. Ms Madge said the benefit of the children remaining on the illegally-erected site 'should attract significant weight in the planning balance'. Elsewhere in her decision the planning inspector said she had considered the Equality Act, which made race a protected characteristic. An illegal traveller site erected over the August bank holiday weekend last year has been given permission to stay until 2029 The site sits just metres from the Grade II-listed Blaby Hall and had a retrospective planning application rejected by the district council Blaby District Council had said in its initial refusal that the site was too close to Blaby Hall (pictured) and would be a 'discordant feature' in the area Ms Madge said: 'Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers are ethnic minorities and thus have the protected characteristic of race.' More than 400 residents had objected to the site, which sits near the Grade II-listed Blaby Hall estate and Victorian ice house. A static caravan, touring caravan, hardstanding, fencing and gates can all now remain on the land east of Sycamore Street. But residents said the decision would encourage more travellers to 'flout the rules'. A man living near the site, who refused to be named fearing backlash, said: 'It's ridiculous. If I wanted to build a porch I'd need to get planning permission, so why don't they need it? 'The site borders a conservation area. Having it there is just not in keeping with what we have here. 'They might even just end up renting the site out if it gets full approval, which would be even more ridiculous.' Another resident, who claimed they had been threatened by travellers in the past, added: 'It's an outrage. They break the law and get rewarded for it. 'What on earth is deterring other travelling groups from following suit and simply flouting the law? 'These people are hiding behind the culture of travellers to avoid obeying the law as everybody else does.' On social media one user branded the decision a 'joke' while another said: 'May as well disband the planning committee as they clearly have no authority and people can just do as they please.' Another said: 'They always seem to get their own way while the rest of us law-abiding idiots get it in the neck.' A third said: 'Either they have broken planning laws or not. Why give them three more years' grace? 'The so-called travelling community must be laughing at councils. They have ridden a horse, cart and caravan right through the planning laws of this country and the politicians sit back and watch.' A Government planning inspector said she needed to consider the best interests of the three children living on the site and added the family had formed a 'settled base' there When it originally refused the application, the council said the camp was too close to Blaby Hall and would form a 'discordant feature' in the area. But Martin McDonagh, the travellers' applicant, said the site would meet a 'pressing accommodation need' in the district. Planning Inspector Melissa Madge has allowed the appeal and given permission for the site to remain until June 1, 2029, some 1,378 days after the travellers arrived. In her ruling Ms Madge said: 'There can be no doubt that if the appeal were unsuccessful, it would take away a settled base for this household, who may potentially need to resort to living on the roadside and face disruption to the children's educational provision as a result. 'I consider that a temporary permission would serve to reduce the severity of harm identified because the development proposal relates primarily to a use of the land, and returning the land to its condition before the development occurred would not be unduly complicated.' Councillor Mike Shirley, Blaby District Council portfolio holder for Planning and Strategic Growth, said: 'We are disappointed that the Planning Committee's decision in this case has been overturned. 'We have concerns about the impact any development in this location has on the Blaby conservation area.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. 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