'Futility' of ideas for Traveller sites - Somerset

From the Bath Chronicle

Council officials are to consider a further 27 sites as potential locations for Gypsy and Traveller developments.

The sites were suggested by members of public through Bath and North East Somerset Council's Gypsy and Traveller site consultation which ended last month and have been made public as the authority rejects a number of controversial choices.

The council has stressed that it has not investigated any of the 27 sites and is simply passing on the public's ideas at this stage.

But it has admitted that several are complete non-starters, including the Quarry Rock Gardens mobile home retirement park at Claverton Down, where the authority's former chairman Councillor Bryan Chalker lives.

Other suggestions which the council acknowledges are "not available" include the Crossways Caravan Site at Dunkerton, Newton Mill Caravan Park, Odd Down FC's ground, the ex-Courthouse filling station now set to be a Tesco Express, and the University of Bath's Sulis Club at Claverton Down.

Sites which might be given more serious consideration include one at Charlton Lane in Queen Charlton, land at Charmy Down, a plot at Hick's Gate near Keynsham, and the city's three redundant Ministry of Defence bases.

In a statement, B&NES said: "This is simply a list of sites suggested by members of the public.

"No assessments have been conducted to consider their suitability.

"The council is in the process of confirming exact site locations and ownership details. They will be assessed at the next stage of preparing the council's plan.

"Members of the public will be able to comment on the assessment of the suitability of these sites at a later stage of the preparation of the development plan."

Mr Chalker (Con, Lambridge) said he was still unhappy with the process: "This seems to have been done without any form of consultation.

"To pick on where I live, I will make Dale Farm look like a teddy bear's picnic.

"Whoever has come up with this, they have probably instigated a great inquiry from within. I won't be the only Mr Angry."

Councillor Dave Laming (Ind, Lambridge) said the sites should have been filtered before being published.

He said: "Why put out the ex-mayor's front garden, why put out the Tesco land at Windsor Bridge, knowing none of these were available?

"Senior officer time has been spent on this so we the taxpayers are paying for the futility of this."

The 27 sites will be reported to the council's cabinet at its next meeting on September 12.