Llancayo Travellers’ site approved after long dispute over flooding and drainage

A long-running planning saga at Llancayo, near Usk, has ended with approval for a Travellers’ site — almost a decade after the family first moved onto the land without consent.

The planning meeting was made available on YouTube.

Monmouthshire County Council’s planning committee confirmed its decision this summer to allow four family-related pitches on land opposite Llancayo House, despite strong opposition from the local community council and some neighbours.

The development will provide each pitch with a static caravan, a touring caravan, and a day/utility room, together with ecological enhancements, new landscaping, and an emergency flood access. A new biological treatment plant and drainage system have been designed to address earlier concerns about pollution in the nearby River Usk Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

A history of disputes

The Jones and Purcell family, who are from the Gypsy and Traveller community, have lived at the site since 2016. Their first planning application for six pitches was refused later that year, citing its location in open countryside, poor drainage, and highway safety issues.

An enforcement notice was served requiring the family to leave, but appeals to the Planning Inspectorate, the High Court, and the Court of Appeal followed. The family remained on the site throughout.

The latest application scaled back the scheme from six to four pitches and dropped earlier proposals for stables and kennels. Officers said this reduction allowed more space for drainage infrastructure and improved the site’s layout.

Environmental scrutiny

Because the site drains towards the River Usk, the proposal triggered a full Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA). Natural Resources Wales (NRW) warned that untreated effluent could damage protected fish species, including twaite and allis shad.

To meet strict rules on phosphates, the family’s agents submitted a detailed Nutrient Neutrality Assessment and Mitigation Strategy. This proposed:

• A GRAF One2Clean biological treatment plant
• A limestone filter bed to further strip out phosphorus
• A drainage field of at least 250m², tested to show the ground can absorb wastewater

The system was designed for up to 16–18 people — more than the likely occupancy of 12 across the four pitches — giving what officers called “a comfortable margin of safety.”

NRW eventually accepted the calculations, concluding that, with conditions in place, the project would not harm the River Usk SAC.

Objections and concerns

Despite the technical approvals, Llanarth Fawr Community Council lodged strong objections. It argued that:

• The drainage field is too small and sits on heavy mudstone that could lead to effluent runoff
• The site is close to flood zones, with the emergency escape route itself predicted to flood in a 1-in-100 year event
• The layout does not meet all safety standards in Welsh Government guidance for Traveller sites

The council warned the scheme could worsen local flooding and said unmet need for Traveller sites should not override environmental risks.

Balancing need and impact

Planning officers acknowledged the objections but stressed Monmouthshire has a legal duty to provide Traveller accommodation. Its most recent Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment, approved by Welsh Government in 2024, identified a need for 13 additional pitches in the county.

They concluded the Llancayo site would help meet this need, and that revised drainage, flood access, and ecological measures meant the scheme now complied with planning policy.

The decision

The planning committee first voted in July 2024 to approve the application, subject to confirmation from Natural Resources Wales that the site would not harm the River Usk SAC. That confirmation arrived in summer 2025, allowing the council to formally grant permission.

The approval comes with conditions requiring the drainage system to be installed and maintained as designed, ecological features (such as bird and bat boxes) to be provided, and an emergency flood access to be constructed.

While campaigners against the scheme remain disappointed, the family now has security of tenure on the land they have occupied for nine years.