Proposals pave way for Twyford Orchards expansion - Berkshire

From the Twyford Advertsiser

Proposals are set to be agreed tonight which could pave the way for the Twyford Orchards Travellers site to be nearly doubled in size by building on greenbelt land.

Fire safety issues are to be addressed by the council's executive, which is concerned that mobile homes on the London Road site are too tightly packed together.

The site currently breaches a number of fire safety regulations.

If the safety improvements are agreed a planning application will then be submitted for a £1.4m extension of the Orchards site.

Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) looks likely to sign a 150-year lease with the landowner to acquire additional land next to the site, having failed to agree terms to buy the land outright.

The site would nearly double in size to create four additional pitches and provide much more space between each of the mobile homes.

Cllr Keith Baker, cabinet member for Gypsy Roma Traveller (GRT) liaison, said: "By expanding the site it would address fire safety issues, keep established households within the community, and tackle issues related to the overcrowding and amenities on the site."

Overcrowding has increasingly become a problem at the site because of the growth of existing families.

WBC has stressed the expansion, which will take about 18 months to complete once started, is for existing families only. Anyone who tries to move onto the site will be prosecuted.

WBC will enter into the 150-year lease subject to planning approval.

Cllr Baker added: "This land is in a greenbelt but the Government would allow us, under exceptional circumstances, to use this land subject to planning permission. This an extreme exception which is unique.

"We are not setting a precedent and we will continue to fight any new developments in the greenbelt."

Residents and interested parties will have the chance to comment during a formal public consultation period.

The expansion will be paid for with £575,000 from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and a £825,000 contribution from WBC.

Twyford Orchards is owned and managed by WBC and provides 16 pitches for Traveller families.