Concerns over 'too many' Gypsy sites - Bedfordshire

From Bedfordshire On Sunday

Gypsy and Travellers sites after a council published its list of 10 proposed locations in their area.

People living in town such as Potton are concerned that there are too many sites in their part of the county and that neither they, nor the Gypsy and Traveller community, were consulted thoroughly enough by Central Bedfordshire Council on which sites were being considered.

In the authority’s local plan there are 35 sites in total, 10 of which are proposed in the Potton ward alone. Other areas have places earmarked for sites however towns such as Haynes and Biggleswade only have one location each.

Councillor for Potton, Adam Zerny, said: “For Potton ward to have ten proposed sites seems odd when there are 31 wards in Central Bedfordshire. It seems strange the council says there won’t be a public consultation on the list of sites until after it has been approved by the council in April. I’d like to see the public consulted on the list now.”

Cllr Nigel Young, executive member for sustainable communities at Central Beds Council, said: “No sites, no pitches – nothing - has been decided yet. We’re at the very beginning of a considered process and these site suggestions are simply a list of areas that could be suitable for Gypsy and Traveller pitches. We consulted the public at the end of last year – including the Gypsy and Traveller community – about what should be in the Local Plan.

“There will be the chance for people to have their say again further down the line, but for now rest assured that the council’s staff are working hard to assess the suitability of proposed sites, as are the community’s elected members.

“We’ll be looking at them and continuing to use the agreed assessment criteria to determine which sites are most suitable across the whole of the area. The size of the suggested sites is in no way a depiction of how many pitches could be located there. Pitch numbers will be assessed later, but we’ll be adopting an approach based on small family units.

“What is absolutely vital to remember is that we have a statutory duty to provide appropriate accommodation to this community, just as we do for other communities. We work hard to meet the needs of both the Gypsy and Traveller and the settled communities and we must be equal in addressing need.”