Villagers’ anger at plans to build Travellers’ sites - Cambridgeshire

From the Newmarket Journal

ANGRY residents attended a packed council meeting to express their concerns about a proposal to build up to six Traveller sites on land in Fordham.

More than 50 people crowded into Isleham Village Hall on Monday for the meeting of Isleham Parish Council, where councillors discussed the proposal to turn land in Isleham Road into sites for Traveller and Gypsy use.

Katie Child, principal forward planning officer at East Cambirdgeshire District Council, attended the meeting, where she told residents that the council needed to find 14 pitches in the district, and that up to six sites could be built on the Isleham Road plot.

She said there would typically be two to three caravans on each pitch.

“At East Cambridgeshire District Council we have a responsibility for housing needs in the district, in all sections of the community,” she said.

“It is not a huge number, but it is a controversial subject. We have to find 14 pitches in the district. We are very interested in your comments and views.”

However, residents and representatives of the community spoke out at the meeting to express concern about the effect a Traveller site would have on the village.

Issues raised included the potential damage to countryside, a lack of amenities including places at Isleham Primary School, a lack of infrastructure to support a growing population, the cost to the taxpayer, and the sustainability of providing an electricity supply and sewerage to the site.

Speaking at the meeting, a spokeswoman for Fordham Parish Council, questioned the safety of a traveller site along Isleham Road, which has a 60mph speed limit.

She said: “How are people going to walk along a 60mph road, and how are they going to get to school?”

Derrick Beckett, chairman of Isleham Parish Council, which objected to the proposal, advised residents that objections should be put to the district council before its strategic development meeting on November 6, with a venue and time still to be confirmed.

He said: “These are the comments and questions that we need to take forward to the committee. It’s something that needs to be raised.”

Mr Beckett also advised residents who wished to object to the proposal to write to Stewart Patience, forward planning officer at East Cambridgeshire District Council.