Overview
- A travelling household erected fences, gates and caravans on land east of Sycamore Street over the August bank‑holiday weekend in 2025, prompting hundreds of local objections.
- Blaby District Council’s planning committee refused a retrospective application in November 2025, but an appeal hearing on April 21, 2026 overturned that decision.
- Planning Inspector Melissa Madge granted temporary permission on June 5, 2026 for a static caravan, touring caravan, hardstanding, fencing and gates to remain until June 1, 2029.
- The inspector gave decisive weight to the welfare of three children, the family’s 'settled base' and the Equality Act point that Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers are a protected ethnic group.
- Locals and the council say the site harms the nearby Grade II‑listed Blaby Hall and a conservation area, and they warn the ruling could complicate future enforcement while highlighting a wider shortage of authorised Traveller pitches.