Llangan protest group wants the Travellers’ site dropped from LDP - Glamorgan

From the Glamorgan Gem

RESIDENTS in Llangan are using the Local Development Plan (LDP) consultation period to focus their opposition to the inclusion of a Travellers’ site in the village.

There is already one family living there, in a site that is currently illegal. The protest group, Llangan Action, has told The GEM that there is no issue with the family that is using that site.

However, there is fierce opposition to an official, bigger site, which has 21 ‘units’. Spokesman Richard Mann said that there were so many grounds for objection to its inclusion in the LDP, not least that the Vale Council had rejected more sustainable sites, and had chosen Llangan instead.

He said: “There is an onus on the Vale Council to consult with its strategic partners before delivering Gypsy and Travellers’ sites, and no consultation has taken place. This has been confirmed to us by the emergency services and by the local primary school.”

Objectors also believe the site is not suitable as it is ‘rural’ and ‘unsustainable’ – because there are no local services (shops, transport or health).

Richard Mann said: “The site allocation does not take into account the scale of the resident community. Llangan has a population of less than 100, with 35 homes, and the Travellers’ site will almost double the size of the hamlet.”

The villagers have a number of concerns about the site itself, and they argue that it is too small for 21 units to fit in. They argue that squeezing that many units onto the site would restrict the movement of any emergency vehicles that might be called.

Richard Mann said: “This proposal suggests a mix of permanent and transient units, and this is not an approach that is favoured by the Gypsy and Traveller community themselves.”

The action group also argues that the site is well away from employment areas, with poor transport links (the nearest bus stop is 800 metres away).

Although a school is near, the group argues that it is full to capacity.
Mr Mann argues that the council is using information selectively to make a case for the travellers site. He said that in the site assessment, Fferm Goch is listed as the local settlement, when it should be Llangan.

Furthermore, he argues that Fferm Goch has been treated as an area where there are employment opportunities, on the basis of four light industrial buildings.

He said: “Traders in those units have told me that they have made their own enquiries and agree that this site is against Welsh Government guidelines. They are concerned because those guidelines say that the mixing of permanent and transient Travellers has a history of causing anti-social behaviour

Another member of the action group, Dave Hammond, said: “We have been out knocking on doors in local villages such as Craig Penllyne and Treoes, and we already have more than 200 signatures on a petition.”

Richard Mann added: “Llangan Action is not a group that seeks to discriminate against the travelling community, and our objections are based on the nonsense of the scale of the site, its location, and the fact that the Gypsy and travelling community do not want to be isolated or discriminated against”.