CONTROVERSIAL proposals to build new Travellers' sites in Bristol have gone back to the drawing board.
It could mean other locations are chosen instead but all five communities that faced camps on their doorsteps have won a reprieve.
Last summer the city council announced it needed to build 24 new pitches to meet government requirements. Initially the proposals were for up to 51 pitches across five sites in different parts of the city.
The largest was for up to 24 pitches for the former Dunmail School site in Southmead, and seven more were proposed for Begbrook Drive in Broomhill.
Woodwell Road in Shirehampton was earmarked for seven pitches and Cousins Lane in St George for a further five.
Another eight plots were proposed for travelling Showpeople at a car storage area on land south of the 12 pitches already at South Liberty Lane in Ashton Vale.
But some residents organised petitions and protests to fight the plans.
They argued that putting Traveller pitches in residential areas was unsuitable and they should be located elsewhere. The Shirehampton site was saved earlier this year, after residents set up a community- run allotment on the land in the summer.
The authority also had second thoughts about the Dunmail and Begbrook Drive sites early on in the process following opposition from locals.
Now the council has agreed to reconsider all the other sites.
Residents in St George said they were delighted with the news.
Alan Bisp, 54, a lorry driver whose Summerhill Road house overlooks the site, said: "A lot of residents were against the proposed Travellers' site in Cousins Lane – we held meetings in the Air Balloon pub with local councillors to try to get it stopped.
"It would have been madness to have caravans and cars coming in and out of that tiny lane. Cousins Lane is also very narrow, and big caravans just wouldn't have got down there. Ambulances and fire engines also wouldn't be able to fit down there so it would be dangerous to have people living there. Also, it's a nice space, there are allotments and small sheds. I don't want to overlook a Travellers' site."
Another resident, who asked not to be named, said: "I'm happy to hear the plans have been scrapped but am a bit cautious because I think the council will bring the idea up again."
Brian Jaques, 62, a warehouseman who lives in Air Balloon Road, said: "No one wanted it. Travellers are always trouble wherever they are and I don't want them behind my house. It's definitely a good thing the council is having a rethink."
Residents in Shirehampton have secured a yearly tenancy on the Woodwell Road site and say it is a good example of using land for the right purpose.
Caroline Penny petitioned the council a year ago to prevent development on the site. She said: "It wouldn't have been ideal for us or for them. There is a site in Avonmouth they don't want to use – they don't want to be in a field in Shirehampton surrounded by houses.
"We got the lease (for Woodwell Road) in July and the council welcomed us with open arms. It's run as a community allotment, we share out the food we grow and we have training days and work days. Maybe the council will look at what we're doing here and rethink the other sites."
South Liberty Lane already has one Traveller site, opened in 2006 despite more than 2,000 objections. Opinion was divided over a second site.
One man, who lives opposite the proposed site but asked not to be named, said: "I don't think there's a need for it. They have one place already. We have had problems with thefts; the police went up there. It's not very nice."
But a resident of neighbouring Swiss Road, who also did not want to be named, said: "I hadn't heard about the other site but if it had gone ahead it wouldn't have bothered me. There were some thefts last year but the police dealt with it."
The proposals were originally included in the council's Site Allocation and Development Management Options Document, which earmarked sites for potential development across the city.
A revised set of proposals is due to be released next summer, which may mean new sites being allocated for traveller pitches instead.
Executive member for housing Councillor Anthony Negus said the allocations were being reviewed because the council could not make them work.
He said: "We will look at other potential sites. This is not something we can duck, it's coming from Westminster."
It could mean other locations are chosen instead but all five communities that faced camps on their doorsteps have won a reprieve.
Last summer the city council announced it needed to build 24 new pitches to meet government requirements. Initially the proposals were for up to 51 pitches across five sites in different parts of the city.
The largest was for up to 24 pitches for the former Dunmail School site in Southmead, and seven more were proposed for Begbrook Drive in Broomhill.
Woodwell Road in Shirehampton was earmarked for seven pitches and Cousins Lane in St George for a further five.
Another eight plots were proposed for travelling Showpeople at a car storage area on land south of the 12 pitches already at South Liberty Lane in Ashton Vale.
But some residents organised petitions and protests to fight the plans.
They argued that putting Traveller pitches in residential areas was unsuitable and they should be located elsewhere. The Shirehampton site was saved earlier this year, after residents set up a community- run allotment on the land in the summer.
The authority also had second thoughts about the Dunmail and Begbrook Drive sites early on in the process following opposition from locals.
Now the council has agreed to reconsider all the other sites.
Residents in St George said they were delighted with the news.
Alan Bisp, 54, a lorry driver whose Summerhill Road house overlooks the site, said: "A lot of residents were against the proposed Travellers' site in Cousins Lane – we held meetings in the Air Balloon pub with local councillors to try to get it stopped.
"It would have been madness to have caravans and cars coming in and out of that tiny lane. Cousins Lane is also very narrow, and big caravans just wouldn't have got down there. Ambulances and fire engines also wouldn't be able to fit down there so it would be dangerous to have people living there. Also, it's a nice space, there are allotments and small sheds. I don't want to overlook a Travellers' site."
Another resident, who asked not to be named, said: "I'm happy to hear the plans have been scrapped but am a bit cautious because I think the council will bring the idea up again."
Brian Jaques, 62, a warehouseman who lives in Air Balloon Road, said: "No one wanted it. Travellers are always trouble wherever they are and I don't want them behind my house. It's definitely a good thing the council is having a rethink."
Residents in Shirehampton have secured a yearly tenancy on the Woodwell Road site and say it is a good example of using land for the right purpose.
Caroline Penny petitioned the council a year ago to prevent development on the site. She said: "It wouldn't have been ideal for us or for them. There is a site in Avonmouth they don't want to use – they don't want to be in a field in Shirehampton surrounded by houses.
"We got the lease (for Woodwell Road) in July and the council welcomed us with open arms. It's run as a community allotment, we share out the food we grow and we have training days and work days. Maybe the council will look at what we're doing here and rethink the other sites."
South Liberty Lane already has one Traveller site, opened in 2006 despite more than 2,000 objections. Opinion was divided over a second site.
One man, who lives opposite the proposed site but asked not to be named, said: "I don't think there's a need for it. They have one place already. We have had problems with thefts; the police went up there. It's not very nice."
But a resident of neighbouring Swiss Road, who also did not want to be named, said: "I hadn't heard about the other site but if it had gone ahead it wouldn't have bothered me. There were some thefts last year but the police dealt with it."
The proposals were originally included in the council's Site Allocation and Development Management Options Document, which earmarked sites for potential development across the city.
A revised set of proposals is due to be released next summer, which may mean new sites being allocated for traveller pitches instead.
Executive member for housing Councillor Anthony Negus said the allocations were being reviewed because the council could not make them work.
He said: "We will look at other potential sites. This is not something we can duck, it's coming from Westminster."
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