From cambridge-news.co.uk
A Travellers’ site which was shut down when it became a hotbed of crime and vandalism is set to reopen.
In a £500,000 project, South Cambridgeshire District Council plans to buy and refurbish the pitches at Mettle Hill in Meldreth, in the hope it will reduce the number of illegal encampments and relieve pressure on villages which have a high concentration of plots, such as Willingham.
Up to 10 families could be accommodated at Mettle Hill, and one of the pitches would be allocated to Cambridge City Council – meeting that authority’s estimated need for the next two decades and halting the controversial search for land within the urban boundary.
Cllr Catherine Smart, the city council's executive councillor for housing, said: "We would have preferred to have a closer site but we searched very thoroughly and were not able to identify one."
It also means other new plots proposed in South Cambridgeshire during a consultation two years ago, including land in Willingham, Fulbourn and Cambourne, would not be taken forward in the near future.
But the proposal brings back memories of disorder at Mettle Hill before it closed in 1996, which left villagers terrorised and sparked threats of vigilante patrols.
Police warned motorists to avoid the area after stones were thrown at passing vehicles, with one driver being driven off the road and assaulted, and there were also allegations of burglaries, muggings, and intimidation.
The final straw was the destruction of many of the bathrooms and utility rooms on the site.
Cllr Mark Howell, the district council’s cabinet member for housing, said he could not condemn a piece of land because of its former occupants.
He told the News: “It’s not the site that was bad, it was the people on the site that didn’t behave themselves, and we will be using the experience we have got from running the sites at Whaddon and Milton to make sure it is well-managed.
“It is already a Travellers’ site that has been sitting unused, so why should we be looking elsewhere when we can utilise this – when we consulted, this is what people were directing us towards.”
But Cllr Joan Fallon, a member of Meldreth Parish Council, slammed the plans as “absolutely disgusting”.
She said: “We had all the trouble years ago and we don’t want that to happen again, the village will be up in arms about it.”
Cllr Deborah Roberts, an independent district councillor, said the lack of consultation was “outrageous”.
She said: “This site was a nightmare and was closed because it was trashed completely on two occasions – it was a complete no-go area.
“The council were in charge of it then and couldn’t control it and I can’t believe they could control it any better now.”
Under the plans, Cambridgeshire County Council would sell the land at Mettle Hill – which is opposite a travelling showpeople’s site – to the district council.
But the travelling Showpeople have warned they may be forced to move – raising fears of a giant Traveller site.
Thomas Birch, one of the travelling Showpeople, said: “We’ve been here for 10 years, we never caused a problem, but we can’t live with the other sort of people – we are completely different to them and we would have to move.
“We could get 100 to 150 plots on our site and we would sell to the Gypsies, we would have to get as much money as we could.
“It would be bigger than Cottenham, it could be the biggest in the country.”
The project, which is being funded by the Government, will be discussed by cabinet members next Thursday (nov 8) before going before the full district council on November 22.
The district council would also pay the county council for the 16-pitch site at Blackwell, Milton, and the 14 plots at Whaddon, which would undergo a refurbishment and would gain another two spots.
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