Council releases new list of potential Newport Gypsy sites – and old proposals aren’t on it - Wales

From the South Wales Argus

NEWPORT council has released a new list of 11 potential sites for Gypsy and Traveller families.

Following the council’s decision in June to scrap a previous controversial shortlist of potential sites and go back to the drawing board, the new list has now been drawn up for consultation.

New potential sites include a former chicken processing plant at Castleton and the former Ringland allotments.

But sites which were previously named as potential locations, including Yew Tree Cottages at Bettws which was the subject of a protest march, are no longer on the list.

A council spokeswoman emphasised that no decisions have been made at this stage and a final list of proposed sites will be drawn up following the consultation on October 4.

Both residential and transit sites must be identified by the council in its local development plan.

A shortlist of sites which included Yew Tree Cottages at Bettws and Queensway Meadows was scrapped by the council in June, as it made the decision to go back to the drawing board and reviewa long list of potential sites.

A cross-party project team was set up in June which invited members of the public to suggest sites. A total of 33 responses were received and the suggestions were included in a list of more than 220 locations.

The sites were examined against a list of criteria and other locations were also visited by the party before the list of 11 was drawn up.

The council will consider comments when it prepares a final public report and a recommended shortlist for the scrutiny committee.

If the committee and cabinet accept the proposals, further investigations would be carried out before the sites could be developed.

Members of the public will also have the opportunity to make further comments in the future.

Further information on all 220 sites is available at newport.gov.uk and comments on the sites can be sent to scrutiny@newport.gov.uk or by post to Gypsy and Traveller site review, Overview and scrutiny unit, Newport city council, Civic Centre, Newport, NP20 4UR.

Locations now under consideration

● Land at Brickyard Lane (residential only);

● Former Allt-yr-yn brickworks (residential only);

● Yard adjacent to the A449 (transit only);

● Land to the west of Llanmartin Primary School (residential only);

● Former Langstone Nursery, Magor Road (residential only);

● Land to the south of Langstone Cottage, Old Chepstow Road (residential only);

● Former Ringland allotments (residential or transit);

● Former road safety centre and surrounding land, Hartridge Farm Road (residential only);

● Former speedway site, Plover Close (transit only);

● Former chicken processing plant, Castleton (residential only);

● Land at Celtic Way, Marshfield (transit only).

The five previous potential sites were:

● Yew Tree Cottages, Bettws;

● Queensway Meadows;

● Two former Army sites at Pye Corner, Nash;

● Pound Hill, Coedkernew.