MP bids to stop councils being forced to find Gypsy and Traveller sites - Northamptonshire

From the Northamptonshire Telegraph

An MP has introduced a bill to Parliament which would stop councils being forced by law to provide sites for Gypsies and Travellers to live on.

Philip Hollobone, Conservative MP for Kettering, said special provision should not be made for Gypsies and Travellers. Kettering council is currently consulting on where 37 sites should be placed, something it is statutorily obliged to do.

But addressing MPs this afternoon (Tuesday, July 9), Mr Hollobone said: “It’s no exaggeration to say many of my constituents have been brought to tears by some of the proposals.

“Kettering Borough Council has to follow national planning regulations. It has, by law, to identify 37 sites. It has no choice in this matter.”

Mr Hollobone, who also serves as a borough councillor, described some of the sites identified by the authority, including in Scott Road, Kettering, Harrington Road, Rothwell and near the old sewage works in Burton Latimer, as outrageous.

He added: “Why should one category of person be treated differently under the planning regulations than any other?”

Earlier this week, planning minister Brandon Lewis told Mr Hollobone he would visit Kettering to see the scale of the problem.

The bill will get a second reading in the autumn, where Wellingborough MP Peter Bone will be one of its co-sponsors.

see also: The Northamptonshire Telegraph - MP slams ‘ghettoisation of the countryside’ over Gypsy and Traveller sites

parliament.uk - Planning Regulations (Removal of Provisions in Respect of Gypsies and Travellers) Bill 2013-14

Inside Housing - MP seeks to end Gypsy and Traveller pitch duty