Concern over temporary closure of Brighton Travellers’ site - Sussex

From the Argus

A Travellers' site is to close for up to four weeks for essential maintenance costing £25,000.

Brighton and Hove City Council said it hopes to get the 23-pitch site at Horsdean back open again as soon as possible.

Included in the work is the installation of a fire hydrant.

But, with summer around the corner, some expressed fears that the temporary closure would lead to unauthorised encampments on open spaces across the city.

Ward councillor Geoffrey Theobald said: “It was only three months ago that more than £100,000 was spent on the Horsdean site following the break-in by Travellers and now council taxpayers are being landed with this further bill.

“With the site closed for four weeks we will inevitably get more unlawful encampments on the city’s parks and playing fields.

“I have always held the view that Horsdean is the wrong location as it is on very low-lying ground which regularly gets waterlogged and perhaps this is at least partly why so much money has to be spent on it.”

Council spending

Last year, the council had to find an extra £200,000 to spend on Travellers and unauthorised encampments.

A council spokeswoman said there was no new spending to pay for the ongoing improvements.

The spokeswoman said: “It will reopen as soon as possible. The timescale depends on how quickly the work can be completed.

"We aim for the site to re-open in three to four weeks, however we are also liaising with external agencies to install the fire hydrant and cannot be specific about timescales at this time.

“This work is being carried out during a period in which there are no gypsies or Travellers requiring pitches on the site or in transit in the city.

“During the site’s closure, or whenever the site is full, we work closely with other authorities to find pitches for families elsewhere if required.”