A council has given approval for a new traveller encampment despite villagers' claims it has prompted several people to start "selling their family homes" in response.

A field near Brands Hatch in West Kingsdown will continue to host a pair of caravans belonging to a horse-trading traveller family from Chatham.

The application was for temporary permission to set up both homes on a field east of High Elms, London Road, as well as a portaloo and portacabin, for the next five years.

The move attracted objections from over 40 neighbours, and only one supporter, who said "live and let live".

An application for an official change of use was made by the owner of the green belt land who is a relative of the family who’ve been living in the caravans, council documents say.

It was made retrospectively as the family are already living on-site in both a mobile caravan and a static one.

Council documents says the mother of the family, Ms Harrison "has been on the road" for 10 years and they have a need for weekly medicine to treat a long term illness.

"The occupant has struggled to obtain prescriptions whilst on the road and had to use their mother's address whilst caring for them," council officers wrote.

"Having a permanent base would provide stability and medical security for the occupant."

The council recommended approval, citing the council’s Gypsy and Traveller accommodation assessment, which said there is an “overall cultural need for 43 additional Gypsy and Traveller pitches across the district.”

A council officer told members that since this data has been collected, as other plots have been approved, 37 are now needed.

But West Kingsdown Parish Council wrote to Sevenoaks council’s planning department, saying that the owner of the land “has given up the gypsy/traveller way of life".

“Several people are now selling their family homes of 50+ years after hearing this news..."

They added: “it appears that the applicant sold the gypsy site on which he lived for a development of five houses, one of which he has occupied since completion in 2013, nearly nine years ago.

“It appears, therefore, that he has given up his gypsy status.

“He has sold one three-pitch gypsy site and now wants another on green belt land next door.

“This cannot be a justification for overriding important green belt policy.”

The parish council added that Ms Harrison and her children were all born in Chatham, and hence “the family would appear to be the responsibility of Medway Council rather than Sevenoaks.”

“She may have come from a long line of Kent gypsy families but they are not local to West Kingsdown.

“As far as members are aware she has never lived in the village and no-one seems to have known of her existence.”

However, 44 wrote to object to the application, expressing fears around mess, waste, and impact on the value of their properties.

“We already have a noise disturbance from the occupiers already there,” one wrote.

They added: “Several people are now selling their family homes of 50+ years after hearing this news about the planning permission.

“We do not need any more disturbance to our lovely community. It will seriously devalue our homes and crime rates will go up.”

Numerous neighbours wrote in to object citing noise and bonfires from the occupants since they’ve lived on the land in question.

At a meeting of the council's development control committee yesterday February 16, members raised concerns that as the applicant lives in a house he is no longer a gypsy traveller.

However, a council officer told the committee: “As a person who identifies as a gypsy traveller, and who has a long background and family, just because they may decide that the time has come for them to live in a bricks and mortar building doesn’t stop them from being of a gypsy and traveller identity.

“You cannot say that they don’t identify as a gypsy and traveller, and if that’s how Mr Luke has said he identifies and Ms Harrison identifies as a gypsy and traveller that has to be accepted.”

Horton Kirby Cllr Philip McGarvey (Con) expressed fears that more travellers would come and set up pitches if the permission was granted.

“The more roads you build the more traffic you attract, it’s the same with traveller’s pitches,” he said.

He added “I can't recall any of these temporary permissions actually being terminated, I presume they all eventually got rolled into permanent ones.

“I came here as an economic migrant from Northern Ireland, seeking work, so I have a perfect claim to set up a caravan on the Vine.”

Cllr Laurence Ball (Con) said: “I understand there is a need, that we are obliged to house travellers in the district.

“Again, according to this information we got, these people aren’t from our district at all, they're actually from Chatham, are we obliged to have pitches for them as well?”

An officer responded that “we have someone who wishes to reside within the district, has strong family connections to others in the district, and hence they wish to reside within the district.

“We still have to provide for these individuals irrespective of where they come from.”

Cllr Simon Reay (Con), however, backed the proposal and dismissed arguments around the family’s origin.

“My understanding is that travellers are travellers regardless of where they lived the last time they were resident in a place, and we as an authority I think are pretty much obliged to treat them as travellers, not as Dartfordians or Medwayans or whatever they might be,” he said.

The council development control committee voted to approve the application for a temporary traveller pitch for the family on the site for five years.