DEPUTY Prime Minister John Prescott has rejected the latest bid by three Gypsy families to win planning permission for their caravan homes on the outskirts of Christchurch.

Following a three-day public inquiry earlier this year, government planning inspector Philip Ware recommended refusal of an appeal by neighbours Jean Harrison, Ann Saunders and Nelly Kefford to station Gypsy caravans on their land at Dudmoor.

His findings have now been endorsed by Mr Prescott in the latest chapter of a long-running and complicated planning battle which has been waged between Christchurch council planners and the families.

Although there is a long history of Gypsy occupation in the Dudmoor area, the site at the foot of the St Catherine's Hill beauty spot is designated greenbelt and borders the sensitive Avon Valley.

Council officers moved swiftly to serve enforcement notices when caravans and other structures appeared without permission in 1984 but the three families have since lodged a series of failed appeals and planning applications in a bid to stay.

In their latest appeal, heard at an inquiry at the Kings Arms Hotel in May, representatives for the appellants argued that health, family and financial constraints meant they were unable to move, there were no suitable alternative sites and this together with their accepted Gypsy status outweighed greenbelt policies.

But the argument was rejected by both the inspector and Mr Prescott, who ruled the families' occupation of the Dudmoor site was unlawful and harmful to the greenbelt.

Christchurch council senior enforcement officer Pippa Breese said the council had yet to consider its next step.

First published; September 17