A public inquiry is due to be held to decide whether permission is given to a number of Gypsy and Traveller homes near Cottenham.

South Cambridgeshire District Council refused to give planning permission for the nine pitches on land south of Chear Fen Boat Club, in Twentypence Road.

The authority raised a number of concerns, including whether a nearby quarry would impact the health of the families living at the site.

An appeal has now been lodged to try and overturn the district council’s decision, with a planning inspector due to hear from both sides at a public inquiry.

Back in 2022 the district council refused the planning application for the nine pitches, each with space for a static caravan and a day room.

The authority said: “The proposal would result in the encroachment into the open countryside and incremental growth in an unsustainable location.

“To access local services and facilities the future occupiers of the site will have to travel a significant distance via a car.”

The district council also argued the development would lead to a “significant urbanisation” of the land.

Concerns were also raised that it had not been shown that the Mitchell Hill Quarry would not have an “unacceptable amenity issues or adverse impacts to human health” on those living at the site, adding that dust and noise were of “particular concern”.

The district council added that the homes were proposed on contaminated land and said no assessment had been done to look at the “extent of contamination and any possible risks”.

However, these objections have been refuted by a representative of the applicant in an initial statement of case published following the launch of the appeal.

In the document the representative of the applicant said they would be able to disprove the concerns raised by the district council at the public inquiry.

They said: “As a matter of principle Gypsy sites are acceptable within the countryside, provided they do not dominate the nearest settled community. It will be demonstrated that the proposed development will not dominate the nearest settled community.

“It will be demonstrated that the proposed development is not in open countryside.”

They added that they would also show the site was not in an unsustainable location, arguing the district council had “failed to take into account” the distances to places that can be reached by bike or public transport.

They also said the development would “not have an urbanising effect” on the area and that the “limited impact” could be mitigated with “appropriate landscaping”.

The representative said they would also show at the inquiry that the site was far enough away from the quarry that there would not be any health and safety concerns.

They also said they would show that any potential contamination of land could be “adequately addressed for the development to remain appropriate”.

The representative added that there were no alternative available sites for the families to move to and said “there seems little likelihood that there will be in the foreseeable future”.

They highlighted that the district council was unable to show a five year supply of land for Gypsy and Traveller sites.

A planning inspector will consider arguments from both sides at the public inquiry before making a decision on whether planning permission can be granted. A date for the inquiry has not yet been set.