Featherstone gipsy camp marketed as luxury homes site

Owners of a South Staffordshire gipsy camp have been caught out trying to market their land as a luxury retirement site, it has emerged.

Meadowdale Developments, understood to be acting on behalf of land owners, advertised five luxury caravan plots at a site in New Road, Featherstone, earlier in the summer. But the site only has planning consent for gipsy pitches.

It is one of dozens awarded consent by a planning inspector after first being refused by South Staffordshire Council.

Planning enforcement officers have written to developers informing them that the site cannot be legitimately marketed as luxury caravan plots and say they are now monitoring the situation.

South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson told the Express & Star today that the issue makes a mockery of the previous Government's ruling that gipsy sites are badly needed in the district.

"It is absolutely disgraceful. If somebody unknowingly purchased a gipsy site they would be really exposed."

It is not known who owns the land and Meadowdale Developments today opted not to comment.

South Staffordshire Council spokesman Jamie Angus confirmed: "We were made aware that adverts were being placed in local newspapers encouraging people to purchase luxury caravan plots at the site.

"The site is a designated gipsy site and does not have planning consent for such development. The number of caravans on the site is also limited. The planning permission on the site is also granted to a specific named person, who we understand no longer owns the land.

"Together with the trading standards team at Staffordshire County Council we have written to the owners explaining this. To date, we have received no further complaints and the site remains undeveloped."

By Alex Campbell