Runcorn Gypsy site could be here to stay after revised plans are submitted to Halton Council - Cheshire

From the Runcorn and Widnes

PLANS to make a temporary Gypsy site in Runcorn permanent have been handed to Halton Council.

Last year the Warrington Road site was granted planning permission on appeal for the change of land use to a residential Gypsy caravan site that is allowed to have horses kep on it.

The latest application seeks to remove a condition that states the site must return to its previous land use after November 2014.

At present the transit site has 13 temporary pitches.

Earlier this year, Halton Council revised its strategy for the provision of Gypsy and Traveller camps in the borough.

And last month executive board members agreed to bid for a share of £12.1m Homes And Communities Agency (HCA) cash to fund upgrades to the area’s provision and to find room for new developments.

The borough currently has 40 pitches but the authority must find the extra pitches as required by Government policy.

A Gypsy and Traveller accommodation assessment could cost up to £20,000 but the figure would be slashed to about £7,000 if the four local authorities in Cheshire complete one together. The Warrington Road site is most likely to take the extra pitches.

Phillip Brown, agent for the application, said: “In my opinion, the site residents should not be left with the uncertainty of living on a temporary site any longer.”