A Buckinghamshire gypsy and traveller site is set to be extended with six additional pitches to station mobile homes and caravans on.

The Orchards Caravan Site on Chalfont Lane will also see an extension to the existing access road and the provision of hardstanding at the site.

The proposed changes to the site, which sits just outside Chalfont St Peter, were approved by planning officers last week.

The site, which is adjacent to a stretch of the M25 has been in use continuously since around 1975, according to the council.

The portion of the site approved for an extension adjoins a section of the south-east part of the site, which was granted a lawful development certificate for five pitches in 2015.

However, there are approximately 20 further unauthorised pitches with static or mobile homes in the adjacent northern section of the wider site, which are currently being investigated, the council said.

Planning documents submitted by applicant Cheval Investments said there would be a boundary of a soft landscaping and a fence of no more than 2m high around each plot.

The documents read: “The site is currently of a relatively poor design and the development that is planned will help lessen the impact of the development that has taken place in the past, which may ultimately result in the older areas of the site being improved as well.”

They added: “It is considered that this design is appropriate to the location and the purpose that is intended.”