Borough chief admits council failed to reveal full findings of £6k report into Travellers site - Bedfordshire

A council boss has admitted that his authority should have provided more information to its officers before a proposed Gypsy site was scrapped.

Bedford Borough Council chief executive, Philip Simpkins, said at the full council meeting on Wednesday night that in ‘hindsight’ if an independent report had been supplied to officers reviewing the site ‘it would have provided more detail to the executive’.

Instead the officers’ report said the proposed site at Meadow Lane in Bedford was not fit for purpose because of noise from the A421 and smell issues.

However a £6,000 council commissioned report said that measures could be put in place to make it habitable for the Gypsy and Traveller community.

The council performed a U-turn in December and re-submitted plans at a cost of up to £28,000.

At the meeting Mr Simpkins denied the executive had been misled, as raised by Cllr Tom Wootton who had called for an inquiry He added: “I would also confirm that with hindsight had the Spectrum Noise Consultant report been an appendix to the officer report, it would have provided more detail to the executive.”