VILLAGERS are vowing to continue their 18-month fight against controversial plans for a gipsy camp.
Hundreds of people objected when an application for a five-caravan site in Ewloe was first lodged in summer, 2010.
Campaigners formed Ewloe Green Action Group to oppose the plans.
Residents told the Leader they were “horrified” by the proposed camp on land off Magazine Lane, near Ewloe Green School.
More than 200 people attended a public meeting and 275 letters of objection were sent to Flintshire Council.
Planning chiefs were due to decide whether to give the camp the go ahead in October but at the last minute it was pulled from the agenda.
Agents Green Planning Solutions have now submitted a new application.
Opponents say they are determined to keep up the fight.
A spokesman for Ewloe Green Action Group said: “We remain resolutely opposed to this application.
“It is totally out of character for this village and nothing has changed in our position since October.”
Campaigners say although the application is for five caravans, the site could also be used to house five tourers and five brick built utility blocks with living areas.
They claim the green-barrier land is popular with walkers and dog owners and have serious concerns about heavy traffic, drainage and sewage.
Cllr Tony Sharps, deputy leader of Flintshire Council, backed residents and wrote to senior planners to voice his objections.
Ewloe councillor Dave Mackie said: “I oppose the application and fully support the residents. My stance on this has never changed. It is very important we preserve the green spaces we have got.”
Saltney councillor and environmentalist Klaus Armstrong-Braun, who has also vowed to fight the plans, said: “I have major concerns about traffic and the destruction of the eco-system. This site will cause pollution and damage to environment.”
Planning committee chairman and Ewloe councillor Alison Halford has spoken to Flintshire Council’s head of planning Andrew Farrow about the new application and was told it had been submitted due to the time taken to consider the previous application, meaning the planning process would start again.
She said: “The other application had been put back and put back. Planning officers had made a recommendation for approval but they had second thoughts.
“The problem has been that for months officers have been waiting for a survey from Bangor University saying whether there is sufficient provision for gipsy sites or not.
“They don’t seem to have done a very good job. Things seem to have gone down a black hole.”
A spokesman for Green Planning Solutions confirmed they had submitted a new application but said the company did not comment on specific applications.