15277/5Minety villagers have heard Wiltshire County Council is negotiating to buy a two-acre site to resettle the gypsies who flouted planning permission in the village.

It is thought an existing managed caravan site used by gypsies in Thingley, near Chippenham, would be big enough to hold the 56 strong group from Minety.

The revelation came at a groundbreaking public inquiry to determine the planning appeal for the gypsy site at Sambourne Road, Minety.

Minety residents claim the gypsies flouted planning law when they set up camp on the edge of the village in August 2003.

North Wiltshire District Council applied for an injunction to remove them after the gypsies moved in and made changes without planning permission.

But last August High Court Judge John Weeks decided they could stay until this week's inquiry.

Headed by planning inspector Andrew Kirby, it opened at North Wiltshire District Council on Tuesday morning.

He is expected to hear evidence until this Friday, before submitting a report to the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who will make the final decision.

Barrister David Fletcher put the case for the district council against the gypsies. Early on in the session, he introduced a letter from Wiltshire County Council detailing negotiations to relocate the gypsies to a caravan site at Thingley.

Mr Fletcher said the proposal to move the Minety gypsies to Thingley was a highly significant development.

During the inquiry Mr Fletcher said the events of August 9 and 10, 2003, which saw the gypsies moving onto a piece of farmland they had bought and setting up an encampment there could not have been predicted.

Within 72 hours the group had installed pipes, cabling and septic tanks, knowing they did not have planning permission.

Mr Fletcher said: "They largely came from outside the area and the infrastructure was put in place within a day or two. This was an organised event. It became a fait accompli. The gypsies had legal advice, organisational advice and engineering advice."

He added: "This is a development in the open countryside. It is an unsustainable development and there are serious highway issues to be addressed."

District councillor Doreen Darby, lead member for the local plan and local development framework, said: "No one else would have got planning permission for the site and I think the gypsies have got to play by the rules. We feel we have a very strong case. Our job is to fight the planning corner and also to make arrangements for them. It is of major importance to ge it sorted out and it is very important the gypsies have a settled base."

Defending the gypsies, solicitor Brian Cox said the inquiry reflected the serious concern at Government level with the gypsy problem.

He felt it was paramount for an assessment to be made of the gypsies' needs instead of just relocating them.

Mr Cox said: "It is inappropriate to say we are building a new site and the gypsies can go there. There has been no assessment made of the needs of gypsies. Yes, they are itinerant, but the problems of the gypsies are not as they were before. There is now a severe

disadvantage to anyone on the road."

Mr Cox added it was wrong to paint the gypsies as outsiders.

He argued the families lived in and around the Wiltshire area.

Barrister David Park represented the Minety Action Group that wants to remove the gypsies from the land.

He said the impact of the gypsy camp on the landscape, highway safety and the wetness of the land at the camp were issues he would be raising during his evidence.

Reacting to the first day's session, action group leader Verina Hyland said it was a relief to reach this stage and welcomed the possibility of the gypsies moving to Thingley.

Mrs Hyland said: "I think the idea of them going to Thingley is superb.

"I do not think anything the gypsies have said today is something we have not heard before.

"This is an opportunity for both sides to put their views and settle points. I feel relieved now. I am looking forward to getting the problem sorted out."

Gypsy representative Maggie Smith- Bendall said she was pleased by the fairness of the inquiry.

She said: "We have an inspector who is working on a criteria. He is not on one side.

"As for the Thingley proposal, it has come like a bolt out of the blue. I cannot comment on it yet. All the Minety gypsies want to do is stay where they are, educate their children and live in peace. I am not going to see these people put through more persecution. If we do not win we will appeal to the High Court. They are human beings and let us give them a place to be educated and have a doctor and dentist."