MP welcomes scrapping of Traveller site - Cambridgeshire

From Cambridge News

A council's decision to abandon its plans to reopen an infamous Travellers’ site has been welcomed by South Cambridgeshire MP Andrew Lansley.

South Cambridgeshire District Council’s plan to buy Mettle Hill in Meldreth was thrown into disarray when the parish council put in a rival bid for the land.

The district council pulled out of the deal saying it would have been a “terrible” use of public money if the two councils entered a bidding war.

Mr Lansley, who is also Leader of the House of Commons, welcomed the decision. He said: “I believe that Meldreth Parish Council is best placed to decide on a future for the Mettle Hill site.

“For a decade now, I have been asking Cambridgeshire County Council to consider a sale of the land to the parish council, so I am pleased that this will now go ahead.

“I will also work together with the district council to strengthen their ability to make decisions about the local need for travellers’ sites, without these decisions being continually second-guessed by the Planning Inspectorate.”

Steve Hawkins, chairman of Meldreth Parish Council, said they were anxious “not to spoil” the travelling community of Showmen and Romany Gypsies, which is just a few metres from the proposed site.

He said: “We will now consult fully with the village to find a good use for the site that is acceptable to all who live here.”

He added discussions with the county council will start this week over what to do with the site.

Mettle Hill was shut down in 1996 after problems with crime and vandalism. More than 4,000 people had signed a petition against the district council’s plans to re-open it.

A spokesman for the district council said independent research published in June found that 20 extra pitches would be needed in South Cambridgeshire until 2031 to provide sufficient housing for travellers.

But he added: “A recent letter from Andrew Lansley MP to the leader of the council suggests Government policy does not require councils to provide further pitches.”