A FAMILY of travellers living near Upton has responded to the news the town council's planning committee has recommended refusal of their plans to extend their site.

The Finney family, who live at Hillbee Farm in Welland Road, said their plans for site, which include an additional caravan onsite, will not lead to more traffic coming and going, despite councillors concerns., which included access to the site for vehicles and the possibility of the land being used for profit.

Shaun Finney, who lives on the site with his family, said: "We are not here for profit, we are here for living. It is not about money, I don't want money, I just want a home at the end of the day."

Originally, the site belonged to Mr Finney's grandfather Leonard, who owned the site from 1993 onwards. When he died in 2013, Upton residents filled the streets as his horse drawn funeral carriage made its way through the town. Mr Finney added: "The reason we are applying is that I've got engaged and so has my sister, so the application is to extend what is already there."

Residents from nearby West Bank voiced their concerns over the site at a planning meeting last week, with Dr Phillip Martin saying: "As residents we strongly object to this. Firstly, there is a danger to vehicles and pedestrians - The County Council highways department considers vehicular access insufficient and as a result all previous applications have been turned down.

Mr Martin said the traffic meant residents would find it "stressful and not without significant impact" on their health. He added: "We urge the council to reject this and carefully review the history and timeline of events."

Because of these concerns, the council voted to recommend refusal of the application, which has been before them in different forms for a number of years. Mr Finney said there would not be any increase in the amount of traffic visiting the site, as the extra caravan would be built for people who already live there.

At the town council planning meeting on March 10, Cllr Henrietta Ross said: "Given nothing has changed in the six years I have been on council, nothing has changed regarding access to the site and there is no suggestion they will do anything to improve it. I recommend refusal."

Cllr Simon Yates added: "Playing devil's advocate, would access be such a problem if families are already there? Would they be moving lots of vehicles around? The highways department has never been happy with anything going in and other than that there isn't really much else to say."