Ms Buckley may be at home competing against the likes of the Queen’s grand-daughter Zara Phillips at events such as the Burghley and Badminton horse trials, but her success has not always overcome the hurdles of prejudice. Her family have lived in the Cambridgeshire village of Willingham for nearly 30 years, at first in a caravan, more recently in a log cabin. Susan works as a support worker for social services and as a cleaner, Tom as a landscape gardener.

At first they lived on a small plot in the village. As Phoebe’s need for land for stabling horses increased, the family asked South Cambridgeshire district council if it would be OK to buy a larger plot of land opposite and move there. They also wanted to provide accommodation for their niece, who has two children. The district council granted them temporary planning permission, which ran out in 2011. It was not extended and the family faced eviction.

The case went to appeal in 2013. Letters of support from local residents stressed the good work Mrs Buckley does with social services and disadvantaged children and praised Phoebe’s horse-riding talents. No one objected to them staying in the village.

Manning up
Some local councillors, however, seemed determined to make the case for the Buckleys to “move on”, conflating their specific case with wider issues – or prejudices – about Travellers. Before the Buckleys’ appeal, parish councillor Ray Manning, who also happens to be Conservative leader of South Cambridgeshire council, composed speaking notes for another councillor to refer to at the appeal hearing. The presence of Travellers, he wrote, “has put a strain on services”. School attendance of Traveller pupils was poor, and “they need a lot of help catching up”.

He went on: “Avoid mentioning the doctors unless asked. If pushed say that you are told that travellers [sic] have a poor health record so they are often there and some people think they are given priority over other people.” The parish councillor Manning gave the notes to refused to read them out because he did not agree with the sentiments and instead handed them to the planning inspector, who in turn passed them with other paperwork to Phoebe Buckley.

Phoebe asked the local doctors’ surgery whether they had ever made comments to the council about Travellers. The surgery denied it and said, in writing, it had “purposefully not got involved... we take patient confidentiality very seriously… and at no point would any patients’ medical information have been made available to the council”. The school also made it clear that the views expressed in the Manning notes “does not, in any way, represent the views of Willingham Primary School”.

Cllr Manning told the Eye that “the parish council did receive a letter from the surgery and holds a copy”, although he did not produce it. He added: “The complaints from the school were made by some of the governors to me and to others but I do not hold written records.” Er, right.

Unwise council
To be fair to Cllr Manning, he may be irked by Gypsies and Travellers, but other South Cambridgeshire councillors, as reported in Eye 1328, have said much worse. In 2004 Cllr Deborah Roberts “joked” about launching a suicide bomb attack against Travellers at Smithy Fen. Last year Tory councillor Mervyn Loynes said he would “put a minefield” around a site at Cottenham. He stepped down from two planning committees and was ordered to attend equalities training. And back in 2006 Tory Mark Howell, circulated a fake road sign showing a caravan with the words, “F*** off gypos”.

This latest case, of course, is different. Cllr Manning pays lip-service to the need for good relations. But the case remains that the Buckleys, having lost their appeal, may have to leave the village they love – although due to the diligence of Phoebe Buckley, there will now be a public inquiry in April.