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Daniel Hill wants travellers to use the land because it is a brownfield site and won’t significantly harm the environment. The former scrapyard, near Pirbright, Surrey, is derelict and Daniel believes it could host 20 caravans. 

Speaking to Surrey Live, the landowner said: “Everybody deserves a safe place to live. And gypsies and travellers are just people.

“A lot of people don’t see it like that, they see this as a problem somehow. ‘These are people that we need to banish from Surrey, these are people we we don’t want in our society.’ And really, that’s not how this should be looked at.

“It is the perfect location. I feel I’ve got the solution, and I’m happy to make this happen.”

Traveller communities across the UK have been criticised recently for using plots of land without getting planning permission. In one instance, an area of woodland near a picturesque country village was even cut down to make way for a traveller site.

So, Daniel has instructed a planning consultant to work on an application to Guildford Borough Council.

He added: “The benefits are quite considerable. The first benefit is it’s a brownfield site. It’s not like you’re developing in the greenbelt.

“And we could deliver this site for a fraction of the cost. The cost that we’ve been estimated to develop the site to a 20-pitch transit site is about £600,000.”

He said his proposed site had full backing of the charity Friends, Families and Travellers.

Plans for the site include facilities for those using it including temporary education provision for children and health facilities.

A Surrey County Council spokesperson said the statutory responsibility to provide and maintain Gypsy Roma and Traveller (GRT) sites sat with the district and borough councils but that the county council had supported this need by providing land for sites.

The spokesperson said that the collaboration of all local government bodies in the county to bring forward the Pendell Transit site had led to a review of individual GRT approaches and a county wide approach was being developed to best meet the needs of the community.

They added: “The GRT community is entitled to the same services as those in the housed community, including the right to occupy premises that are fit for use.

“This includes accessible accommodation and facilities. By providing a transit site in Surrey, the transient GRT population will have the opportunity to address issues such as access to healthcare and social services.

“The provision of power and hot water facilities will help to provide essential temporary respite from the rigours of lives spent on the road.”

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