Welsh Ministers concede appeal of planning inspector's decision brought by a Traveller

Following the grant of permission to appeal, the Welsh Ministers conceded the appeal with the quashing of their inspector's decision, also agreeing to pay the Appellant's costs and the case is to be remitted back to their planning inspector for reconsideration. The core issue in the case concerns the placing the rights of the Appellant’s children and fundamental rights of the Appellant against the issue of highway safety, linked to the access point to a planned site for situation of static caravans. The notice of enforcement is stayed, pending a new decision by the Welsh Ministers.

The issue before the Welsh Ministers centres on the impact on the Traveller and her children of the consequences of eviction, and the interference of the rights under Article 8 of the ECHR. There is also a lack of any available Traveller sites should the Appellant be made homeless, combined with the potential impact of s 60C of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 on criminalisation and seizure of their vehicles, as they would be forced onto the side of the road or into unauthorised encampments, disrupting the educational and health needs of the Appellant’s children. Regarding children’s rights, the Welsh Government has placed particular weight on having due regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (see Children's rights in Wales).