A controversial traveller camp on the edge of Warwick is not in the green belt, the applicant behind the site has said.

A planning hearing is set to be held at the end of July into the development on Henley Road which was last year blocked by Warwick District Council (WDC).

The local authority served an enforcement notice to stop building on site in May last year. This was appealed by the landowners and an inquiry was due to be held last December before being cancelled as a separate planning application was submitted.

This application will be discussed at the hearing on July 29, with the applicant Philip Brown Associates insisting the campsite is not in the green belt.

"In this case, although the site was previously a green field, Grey Belt does not exclude land that is not previously developed and, development of the appeal site would not result in the sprawl of a large built-up area; erode the gap between neighbouring towns; or, affect the setting or special character of a historic town," a statement before the hearing said.

"The site therefore constitutes Grey Belt land."

In its statement, the applicant referenced another traveller site on nearby Back Lane, Rowington which was refused permission at an appeal recently.

While that planning inspector refused to grant planning permission, they also said that site was in the grey belt and therefore the developer did not need to show any "special circumstances" for the site.

Philip Brown has argued the same thing for the site on Henley Road.

In its statement WDC has conceded the site should not be treated as green belt.

However the council has still objected to the development, raising issues around waste management, biodiversity, water drainage and nearby M40 would be too loud for the people living there.

The council said it "cannot be demonstrated that the development would not result in an increased flood risk elsewhere".

The statement added: "The local planning authority considers that on the basis of the available information at the time of preparing this statement, the development conflicts with local plan policies."

If approved, the planning application would see the field turned into a base for 12 families.

See the full application here.