Travellers' site may be torn down over flood risk

A travellers' site in Somerset could be demolished after a planning inspector ruled families living there were "highly vulnerable" to flooding.

Charlie Barney and J Birch applied in December 2025 for retrospective planning permission for the development, which lies west of Batch Road in Puriton, between the M5 motorway and the Gravity Enterprise Zone.

Somerset Council refused the plans in February, prompting the applicants to appeal against the decision to the Planning Inspectorate.

Planning inspector Laura Cuthbert has upheld the council's decision, which could mean the site is torn down if not returned to its original state by the owners. The council has not confirmed if any enforcement action will be taken.

The Batch Road site lies to the north of the main built-up area of Puriton, a stone's throw from junction 23 of the motorway and the £4bn Agratas gigafactory, the UK's largest electric-vehicle battery manufacturing facility, which is still under construction.

There are two pitches on the development, each with a day room and static caravan, plus space for a touring caravan.

But the entire development lies within flood zone 3a on the official Environment Agency (EA) flood maps – meaning it is at relatively high risk of flooding. And EA rules state caravans should not be placed in high-risk flood zones.

Cuthbert visited the site on 5 August and her final ruling was due to be published to the council's north planning committee, which handles major applications within the former Sedgemoor area, on Tuesday.

The planning inspector said the development did not "fully accord" with the original plans, noting the day rooms and static caravans had been placed in different locations and the day rooms were "of a different design and scale" than had been intended.

She said the "Gypsy status" of the owner and residents was not in dispute, but that the site's location made the residents "highly vulnerable" to localised flooding.

Cuthbert noted there was high demand for travellers' pitches in Somerset. The council's own assessment in February stated that 261 pitches were needed.

But she said the flooding risk posed to residents outweighed any benefits of allowing the development to remain.

She concluded: "I am not satisfied that future occupiers would be able to reach a place of safety during a flood event."

Following the dismissal of the appeal, the council can take enforcement action if the occupants do not return the land to its original condition within a given time-frame.

However, the authority has struggled with high levels of demand on its existing enforcement team, with senior planning officers admitting in January they were heavily reliant on staff sourced as far afield as Staffordshire to look into local cases.

The council has not confirmed whether any specific enforcement action will be taken against the Batch Road site in the near future.