A controversial traveller park in Flackwell Heath is set to be extended after plans were given the green light, despite a number of objections being raised, including safety concerns.

Planning chiefs voted in favour of allowing two additional caravans – one mobile and one static – on the site at 128 Heath End Road, in a planning meeting at Wycombe District Council this week.

There is already permission for two mobile and two static caravans on the site, following a decision by the secretary of state in 2012 following a full public inquiry, so the extension would mean there would be six caravans on the site in total.

The additional static caravan has been proposed to provide accommodation for Patrick Murphy’s sister-in-law, Margaret Hanrahan.

Mrs Hanrahan already lives on the site in a touring caravan, with “overflow” accommodation being provided in one of the existing mobile homes, which planning officers say is not in breach of the current planning control as the site is legally a traveller park.

However they said the arrangement is “cramped” and falls “well below the quality of accommodation specifications…”

They added: “This temporary arrangement, while tolerable, is considered to be poor.

“The provision of a mobile home for the Hanrahan family, in place of their current tourer, would represent a significant improvement in the quality of living environment for the family…”

Mrs Hanrahan is said to have separated from her partner and has five children, four of whom still live with her. One of the children is diagnosed as having ADHD and another is said to suffer from an “ongoing” kidney infection.

Mrs Hanrahan is also reported to suffer from asthma.

Speaking at the meeting, cllr Carolyn Leonard, of Chepping Wycombe Parish Council, raised a number of objections to the extension, including a lack of firefighting amenities, saying it was clear the increase in capacity was “not safe”, adding the number of caravans proposed would “not fit” on the site and that the proposal should be refused.

Angie Stone, speaking on behalf of the Flackwell Heath Residents Association, echoed many of cllr Leonard’s comments, adding that placing the extra caravans in a “prominent position at the front of the site” would alter the street scene “detrimentally” and impact on the “openness” of the Green Belt space to the rear of the site.

She also said a limit should be imposed on the number of “dependant relatives” living on the site to prevent overcrowding.

Local member cllr John Savage said he was “extremely concerned” about the future safety of people on the site and their immediate neighbours as a result of the expansion, and accused officers of wanting to get the site approved “no matter what”, questioning why more caravans were being allowed now.

Cllr Clive Harriss said it was a “small site at the edge of the village” and that he could not see that its impact would “really be that great”, adding: “I don’t see any issues.”

Planning officer Robert Harrison confirmed the site is covered by alternative health and safety laws, adding: “We remain in the situation where if Mrs Hanrahan is evicted from the site, we have nowhere to send her tomorrow and are unlikely, tomorrow or the day after, or a few months from now, to be able to direct her to [another] site.”

The plans were approved by nine councillors and opposed by five, with one councillor abstaining from voting.