Sunday 11 March 2012

Villagers fear protests on sites will be ignored - Leicestershire

Residents fear their concerns about proposed Travellers sites near their homes will be ignored because they live outside the boundary of the council proposing them.

The city council wants to create three potential camps on the northern edge of Leicester.

Two of them – at Greengate Lane and Red Hill Way – are on the fringes of Birstall, which sits inside the county boundary.

Villagers think their views will be ignored by Leicester City Council, which is consulting on the proposals.

A resident who is opposed to the proposed camps said: "The city council wants to put these camps out of sight of its own residents, but in doing so it will land them right on our doorsteps.

"They have no reason to listen to the many hundreds of people in this village who are really upset about this. It's not right.

"We are the people this could most affect.

"I feel this is political and we have been targeted. The city council is Labour-run and we are in a Conservative area so there's no votes to be lost here."

Birstall Parish Council had arranged a public meeting to discuss the sites on Monday evening, at the village hall, before the city council announced it would hold one at the same time at the Beaumont Leys leisure centre.

Chairman of Birstall Parish Council Stuart Jones said: "We have been very shabbily treated by the city council.

"For years, the city council has been telling us it would not consider Greengate Lane as a permanent Travellers site but those guarantees mean nothing.

"People are really concerned in Birstall and feel they are powerless to do anything."

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said more authorised sites were needed because "constantly moving t=Travellers on from unauthorised camps doesn't solve the problem – it just moves it to a different part of the city."

A city council spokesman said: "This is clearly a very important issue and we urge all interested parties to contribute to the decision-making process by taking part in the public consultation.

"This is open to people beyond the city boundaries and is available online.

"City council planning officers will be attending a special meeting for Birstall residents about proposals. This will take place ahead of the planned Bradgate, Rothley, Mountsorrel and Birstall community forum on March 14."

That meeting starts at The Birstall Social Club, in Wanlip Lane, at 5.30pm.

The land on which the sites – catering for about 26 families – would be built is owned by the city council.

More than £1.5 million of Government cash would be used to set up the sites, if approved.

The Travellers would mostly be temporary tenants and would pay rent, council tax and charged for gas and water.

The consultation closes at 5pm on Friday, April 13. To take part in the consultation, visit:

www.leicester.gov.uk/ gypsyandtravellersites

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