A Chalfont St Peter councillor has revealed that several residents in the village are ‘frightened’ to express their concerns about a potential traveller’s site coming to the area.

Planning was officially granted on May 2 by Buckinghamshire Council to have an area of West Hyde Lane dedicated to those from the Gypsy community, but on the basis that several requirements are met.

These include that only traveller’s should use the site and that the work must be completed with a five-year time frame from when the plans were given the green light.

The initial proposal was put forward to the council on August 29, 2023.

However, despite the conditional approval, 43 objections were made from members of the public with Cllr Isobel Darby suggesting that certain residents didn’t feel comfortable coming forward to express their concerns.

She said: “'A number of people approached councillors saying they felt very frightened about putting in a formal objection identifying themselves and that's a sad reflection on the strange relationships in Chalfont St Peter today with the existing travelling community and I'm not talking about the applicants here.”

The concerns raised in the three-hour meeting at the start of the month focused on the following:

  • Extra pressures on local services such as waste, water and sewage pumps
  • Extra pressures on local schools and medical facilities
  • Impact on greenbelt and rural character of the area
  • Impact on local wildlife
  • Fear of the site being extended in the future, given the planning history of the site.
  • Impact on the welfare of students at Robertswood School
  • Anti-social behaviour of the travelling community
  • Traffic congestion
  • Highway hazards including limited provision for waste collection
  • No justified need for the development
  • Inadequate publicity of the application by the council

The soon-to-be site will be situated roughly four miles away from where rock star Ozzy Osbourne and his wife, music manager, Sharon Osbourne, currently live.

The couple, who have been married for well over 40 years, have had a property near Beaconsfield for several decades, before they moved over to the United States of America on a permanent basis in the mid-to-late 2000s.

They never sold their abode in South Buckinghamshire, and would often stay in their mansion when back over in the United Kingdom.

But at the back end of 2023, the duo announced they’ll be leaving the USA to return to leafy Buckinghamshire, where they stayed ever since.

Other celebrities such as singer Cheryl Tweedy (formerly Cole), presenters Vernon Kay and Tess Daly, musician Jay Kay, comedians Ricky Gervais and Russell Brand, chef Tom Kerridge and radio host Chris Evans, along with members of the Wycombe Wanderers team, currently live in South Buckinghamshire.

Locations include Beaconsfield, the Chalfonts (Chalfont St Peter, Chalfont St Giles and Little Chalfont), Marlow and Princes Risborough.