A proposal for a caravan park on green belt land will be decided by a planning inspector at a public inquiry.

The original application to station caravans in the two-acre paddock used for horses to graze, next to Mays Lane near Whitings Hill Open Space in Chipping Barnet, was refused by Barnet Council in December 2023 as it was deemed an “inappropriate development”. 

The application received thousands of objections.

The applicant, Patrick Casey, represented by agents Green Planning Studio, has appealed and the proposal will now be decided by a planning inspector at a hearing on Saturday, January 21.

Gina Theodorou, chair of Quinta Village Green residents association, which helps maintain Quinta Open Space, objected to the plan on the grounds the site was Green Belt land and it would “affect the village green - Quinta Open Space - and its neighbourhood”. 

The association will be considered a ‘main party’ at the inquiry.

She worried caravans would “urbanise part of a vital habitat network” and removed a piece of the corridor that connected Totteridge Valley and Arkley South Fields.

Gina said: “We’re all about preserving the green spaces we have because we’re losing them all over the borough and all over London.”

Explaining its history, Ms Theodorou said the land was private, split in two, and originally owned by a Christian denomination called Church of the Brethren, before they sold both off the plots.

She said: “We don’t have access to that land but it borders publicly accessible greenbelt such as Whitings Wood, which lots of people use locally.

“You can see into this plot of land, it does affect the visual amenity, the wildlife, so once that’s built on it means there’s no continuity in the Green Belt.” 

A Barnet Council spokesperson said the reasons for the scheme's original refusal related to the proposal being an inappropriate development in the Green Belt resulting in harm to openness, harm to the site's character and appearance, ecological impact, flood risk and highway safety.

Green Planning Studio Ltd was approached for comment.

More information can be found using Barnet Council’s online planning portal, using reference number 24/00180/AREF.