Green light given for planning applications to be made for a new Travellers' site in Datchet - Berkshire

From the Windsor Observer

THE Royal Borough has given the green light for planning applications to be made for a new Travellers' site in Datchet.

At a well-attended cabinet meeting on Thursday (24/1) held in the Town Hall, St Ives Road, Maidenhead, councillors agreed to note the possibility of a new Travellers' site at Mill Place, Datchet and open it up to the planning process to decide if it was a suitable site or not.

Councillors were keen to point out this was not an endorsement for a Travellers' site to be built at the location, but a move to allow the decision to be made by the planning process.

Councillor Michael Saunders, lead member for planning and property, said: "We are not encouraging the site, we are not building a site. We are proceeding as I would like to think our residents would expect us to proceed which is for the due planning process to consider the issue should any application be forthcoming."

More than 50 people attended the meeting with seven speakers including James Wilson of the Datchet Common Community Group- lead petitioner against the site with a petition of 779 signatures, Thomas Giles- lead petitioner in favour of the site with 204 signatures- as well as residents and Travellers in Datchet and flooding experts.

Those in favour noted the need for extra pitches in the area for Traveller families with those against believing the highlighted area was subject to intense flood risk.

Councillors also agreed to recognise the need for 21 additional pitches to be found in the Royal Borough by 2017 and a further 13 by 2027 with seven needed in the Datchet area by 2017 and 13 by 2027.

As a result, cabinet also agreed to continue to search for further suitable Travellers' sites elsewhere in the Royal Borough while consulting with relevant stakeholders including parish councils, neighbourhood plans and the traveller community.