400 sign petition over Nash Gypsy site plan - Gwent

MORE than 400 people have signed petition to fight proposals for Gypsy and Traveller sites in Nash.

Local community councillor Tony Ducroq has also written to all 49 Newport councillors stating the reasons why locals believe the three proposed sites - two at Broadstreet Common, Pye Corner, and one at Nash Mead, Queensway Meadows - are not suitable under planning and Welsh Government guidelines.

These include the fact that the Broadstreet Common sites are within a flood plain, which the Welsh government states should be avoided; the sites are in a rural area and lack the basic infrastructure such as mains sewerage, street lighting, and pavements required.

Mr Ducroq says one site is a Site of Special Scientific Interest; two are on a narrow country lanes, which could not cope with the increased traffic; and two are near  reens, which the Welsh Government advises against over safety fears for children. Mr Ducroq says Welsh Government guidelines for Traveller sites state they should be close to local amenities such as schools, health centres, shops and be accessible on foot, which they are not.

The guidelines also state proposed sites should take into account the impact of noise and disturbance to local residents - but these sites are within ten metres of homes. Instead Mr Ducroq suggests some areas discounted by the council should be looked at again, including the former Llanwern Steelworks Sports and Social club site at Spytty. He says the it ticks all the boxes in that it has all the necessary infrastructure and any issues around lack of privacy, for which it was discounted, could be overcome with screening.

Mr Ducroq is now calling on councillors to back the residents' campaign, adding: "Whilst these sites may not be within your ward, we all have a duty to give value for money to our electors, and the sites in Nash will certainly involve expensive infrastructure if proceeded with and will involve further encroachment on the rural nature of the area."

Plans for a site at Yew Tree Cottage, Bettws, have already been submitted and the others, including details for a site at Pound Hill, Marshfield, are expected to be applied for shortly.