People living near a traveller site fear being called a bigot if they speak out against its illegal expansion, a councillor believes.

The owners of Moate Farm in Fordwich, near Canterbury, secured permission two years ago to increase the number of caravans on the land from six to 20.

But council inspectors discovered almost three times this number when they visited in the summer, with 57 motorhomes on the site.

Its owners have now been forced to apply retrospectively for planning permission, attracting little objection from individual neighbours.

But Cllr Dave Wilson, who represents an adjoining ward, says the number of complaints does not reflect the “significant concern among local residents”.

“Rightly or wrongly, many people have been reluctant to publicly express their views for fear of causing offence,” he said.

“They’re nervous about their comments being misinterpreted and don’t want to run the risk of being labelled a bigot.

“There isn’t a problem with the community on that site, and I don’t want people to imply there is.

"You will see that while there are objections from Fordwich Town Council, Friends of Fordwich and District, and the Littlebourne and Stodmarsh Road Community Association, there are few direct representations from residents - three at the moment.”

Cllr Wilson believes the site is not equipped with the necessary sewage and power infrastructure to support the added homes.

He says this is because the encampment expanded without the local authority’s say-so and therefore with nothing to ensure the landowners provided these services.

Residents have also told Cllr Wilson that there have been about 20 power outages in the area over the last two months.

Papers submitted to the city council by the landowner attribute the unauthorised use of the site to a dearth of gypsy and traveller camps across the district.

But Cllr Wilson argued: “If there is need for more pitches, which is claimed but not demonstrated in the application, it ought to be accommodated at more suitable locations elsewhere in the district.

“This location already causes a visual blight to the surrounding farm landscape and views across the Stour Valley because of the scale and prominence of the site itself.”

A report published by the city council in 2018 concluded that it needed to create 11 new pitches across the district by 2022.

The authority initially rejected a bid to increase the capacity of Moate Farm from six to 20 caravans but was later overruled by a government planning inspector who cited the district’s lack of traveller provision as the main reason for his verdict.

The landowners have, however, gone well beyond the conditions of their planning consent in expanding to almost 60 motorhomes.

In documents submitted in their application, they say: “This is a matter resulting in extended family and members of the travelling community, who are known to the existing occupants of the site, doubling up for extended periods of time and seeking a settled base for them and their families.

“There is a substantial need for more sites within the district that the council are unable to deliver.

“The proposed total number of static caravans would not dominate the nearest settled population, nor would such an increase result in an unacceptable impact on the surrounding area.”

The application will be considered by the council’s planning committee at a future date.

Should the bid fail, the council could take enforcement action to remove the additional caravans from the site.

Read more: All the latest news from Canterbury