A TRANENT man who built caravan pitches on his land to allow his extended family to move in has appealed a council order to get rid of them.

James Irvine, who comes from a well-known Gypsy Travellers’ family, created pitches which would allow up to 12 caravans to come on to his land at Muirpark Steading, on the outskirts of Tranent.

However, he created the caravan site without planning permission and, when he applied for approval, East Lothian Council turned him down.

At a meeting in January, the council’s planning committee ignored advice from its own officials and rejected the application, telling Mr Irvine he had three months to appeal before demanding it close down.

During the January meeting, planning consultant Alan Seath, speaking on Mr Irvine’s behalf, said Mr Irvine was part of a well-known Gypsy Traveller family and, like many others, had taken steps to provide a home for his extended family because there was a lack of accommodation available to the Gypsy Traveller community across Scotland.

He claimed that the Scottish Government and councils were not doing enough to address the needs of the community, which is classed as a distinct ethnic group.

Mr Seath said: “A lack of action throughout the country has meant the Gypsy community has taken it upon themselves to create homes for their extended families and Mr Irvine is no different, but he has created a stressful situation for himself because he has not waited for the granting of planning permission.”

Despite his claims and representation from Daniel Davies, Mr Irvine’s closest neighbour, in support of the site, the committee rejected it, declaring the site against its countryside development policy.

Now Mr Irvine has appealed to the Scottish Government to overturn the council’s decision. The appeal, which was lodged earlier this month, states: “There is a lack of suitable sites for Gypsy/travellers in East Lothian. There are no road safety issues and no impact on residential/visual amenity.”