Residents living near five shortlisted Travellers sites in Swansea say we don't want it here

From the South Wales Evening Post

RESIDENTS living close to five potential sites for Travellers have greeted the news unanimously saying: "We don't want it here."

Swansea Council has unveiled a long-awaited shortlist of sites it is considering to make a home for Travellers, as it is obliged to by law.

The five sites have been identified after a process which began with 1,006 being considered, and is the same final five which were revealed in the Evening Post earlier this year.

The public are being asked for their views on the sites as part of a consultation exercise which lasts until the end of March, but already opposition has been expressed by people living in each area.

The sites are the former greyhound stadium in Cockett ward, the rear of Parc Melyn Mynach and the proposed cemetery site, both in Gorseinon, and Milford Way in Penderry.

Also on the list is Swansea Vale in Llansamlet, where residents have fiercely fought against a site, as one already exists at Pantyblawd Road. Their claim that an agreement was made by the old West Glamorgan County Council not to place a second site in the area was dismissed, after Swansea Council said that, following legal reviews, no such agreement existed.

Opponents staged a demonstration outside the Civic Centre, as councillors revealed details of the process. One said: "We have had a lot of concerns about another site in this area for a long time.

"We weren't allowed into the building to listen to councillors, which makes you think transparency does not exist.

"I don't know where those councillors live, but they have no idea what they impact will be on the community.

"Travellers do not pay any tax, and yet the council will be expected to pay thousands of pounds to create a site".

Bob Clay, a member of campaign group Llansamlet Against a 2nd Traveller Site, added: "If the West Glamorgan agreement is invalid, then the people of Llansamlet were deceived in 1986".

In Gorseinon, town councillor Malcolm Curtice said: "People do not want a Traveller site in Gorseinon. We had one twenty years ago, and there were a lot of issues then."

Many residents were happy to comment, as long as their names were not revealed. In Waunarlwydd, close to the former greyhound racing site, one said: "It is not a practical site.."

And a resident of Penderry ward, close lives close to Milford Way, added: "I question the whole philosophy of providing space for different cultures. What if the Chinese, or Africans, or Welsh, or any other cultural group demanded their own area?"

To take part in the consultation visit: www.swansea.gov.uk