COUNCILLORS at a meeting last night were expected to refuse plans for a gypsy site in Chippenham.

The application is for the permanent location of two mobile homes, two dayrooms, two touring caravans and a play area at land on Pudding Brook on the outskirts of the town.

North Wiltshire District Council was to decide whether to grant the retrospective application but officers recommended it be refused because of road safety and because it was outside a built up area.

Gypsies are already living on the site after moving from the publicly managed site in Thingley.

The applicant and her family said they were forced to move on the grounds of personal safety and they bought the 0.65 hectares of land alongside the A4.

The applicant is willing to accept a condition that would restrict the use of the site to herself and her dependents.

Maggie Smith, from the Romany Gypsy Council said she would not be attending the meeting because she knew the plans would be refused.

"I will be going straight into the appeal system. We are quite successful with appeals," she said.

The planning officer working on the application is Emma Lai and Ms Smith said she had been very helpful.

"I think she has been very, very good. I am pretty sure we will work together on this," she said.

But Ms Lai has still recommended refusal with the support of the Highway Authority, Corsham Town Council and Chippenham Without Parish Council.

All three parties believe access to the site is dangerous off the busy A4 to Bath and seasonal flooding could also be a problem.

Corsham Town Council strongly objected to the plan and recommended that enforcement action be taken.

There have also been three letters of objections from residents who raised concerns about the location of the site and the visual appearance.

Ms Smith said the Government was encouraging gypsies to buy land to live on but then they faced the problem of local authorities not granting planning permission.

"It is absolutely dire," she said. "Normal people have a problem finding housing in this area but it is a million per cent worse for Romany gypsies."