Bromley Council's Plans Sub-Committee No. 2 has refused permission for a traveller site at Meadow View, Salt Box Hill, Biggin Hill, citing harm to the Green Belt as the primary reason. The committee acknowledged an unmet need for traveller accommodation but concluded that very special circumstances
had not been demonstrated to outweigh the environmental concerns.
The decision, made on Thursday, May 21, 2026, means that the retrospective application for six caravan pitches for residential use by Gypsy and Travellers was denied. The council's report highlighted that the proposal was deemed inappropriate development in the Green Belt, causing harm to its openness and conflicting with its designated purposes.
Unmet Need and Green Belt Policy
The council's decision was informed by evidence of an unmet need for traveller accommodation in Bromley, as identified in the Bromley Gypsy Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) 2016
and the London GTANA identifies a need for additional Gypsy and Traveller accommodation in Bromley.
The report further notes that the Londonwide GTANA 2025 has been published, which indicates and identifies need in Bromley, which is not disputed.
However, national planning policies, including the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the Planning Policy for Traveller Sites (PPTS), state that Inappropriate development is harmful to the Green Belt and should not be approved, except in very special circumstances.
The assessment for Meadow View concluded that the proposal comprises inappropriate development in the Green Belt by definition and would be harmful to its openness, and would conflict with the purposes of including land within the Green Belt.
Defining 'Very Special Circumstances'
In planning law, Very Special Circumstances
are not considered to exist unless the potential harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm resulting from the proposal, is clearly outweighed by other considerations.
While the council's report indicated that in this particular case there are Very Special Circumstances existing that clearly outweigh the harm identified, and for this reason it is recommended that planning permission is granted,
the final refusal decision stated that very special circumstances had not been demonstrated to outweigh the harm to the Green Belt.
Assessing Harm to the Green Belt
The typical process for assessing harm to the Green Belt involves giving substantial weight to any harm to the Green Belt.
For the Meadow View application, the specific harms identified were that the proposal was inappropriate development in the Green Belt, causing harm to its openness and conflicting with the purposes for which the land is designated.
Further details on the council's decisions can be found in the Decisions Thursday 21-May-2026 19.00 Plans Sub-Committee No. 2.pdf and the Public reports pack Thursday 21-May-2026 19.00 Plans Sub-Committee No. 2.pdf.
The Agenda frontsheet Thursday 21-May-2026 19.00 Plans Sub-Committee No. 2.pdf provides background information on the committee meeting.
