Pressure mounts on council to close illegal Travellers' camp - Glamorgan

From Cardiff Online

Pressure is mounting for an illegal Gypsy and Traveller camp near a chemical complex and a college for autistic youngsters to be closed.

The Travellers moved onto the former council recycling centre at Sully last January, sparking concern among residents.

Council officers warned that any legal action to close the site would almost certainly fail because the authority did no have an official permanent site for the travellers and advised residents to be patient. Ten months on, residents say they are fast running out of patience and now want action.

Independent councillor Bob Penrose, who was elected in Sully at last May’s local election partly on the back of his campaign to close the unauthorised site, raised the issue as a matter of urgency at a meeting of the Vale council's economy and environment scrutiny committee.

He told the committee: “They are illegally occupying the site, and accordingly should be moved off.

“The site is inside the ‘red’ safety zone of the nearby chemical plant and as such is not suitable for residency.

The site was previously a refuse recycling centre, and as such must have a degree of pollution making it unsuitable for resident occupation."

Sully community councillor said: “The site has been there since early January and residents have been agitating for its removal. That feeling is getting stronger.

“We have been asked to be patient. We have been tolerant and patient for 10 months waiting for a solution.”

Richard Jones, a director of Beechwood College, which caters for nearly 50 young people with autism said they had to ensure a safe and secure environment as well as the psychological welfare of youngsters at the college.

Having the illegal camp so close to the college raised questions about whether some parents would send their children to the college, he said.

He said: “To allow the camp to remain would be detrimental to the services we provide and our ability to attract new placements.”

The council’s Local Development Plan (LDP) identified a site in Llangan as an official Gypsy camp. However, the LDP has been put on hold while a review is undertaken.

Rob Thomas, the council’s director of development services said it would be difficult to deal with such a site outside the LDP, while Miles Punter, the authority’s director of visible services and housing reiterated that legal action to remove the Gypsies from Sully would be likely to fail in the absence of an official permanent site.

The committee agreed to recommend to the cabinet that a permanent official Gypsy camp is established as soon as possible.