Decision over Fairhill Gypsy site is 'morally wrong' - Bedfordshire

From Bedford on Sunday

A COUNCIL has been accused of ‘rushing through’ plans for a new Gypsy and Traveller site.

It follows four years of delays and a series of set-backs surrounding the original permanent site planned for Meadow Lane, Bedford, which now looks unlikely to happen.

This week the borough council revealed plans to create 14 pitches on its own land at Fairhill - the junction of Paula Radcliffe Way and Clapham Road - which was previously the site of the Cut Throat Lane camp that closed in 1994 after years of problems.

Those living near the proposed site say the authority’s decision to ensure the application is heard by the next planning committee meeting on May 20 is ‘morally wrong’ as it has not been subject to a full consultation.

It was also not considered in the previous Gypsy and Traveller designations plan which sets out potential sites for the council to consider.

The authority has said it’s an alternative site to Meadow Lane which was given planning permission last year but has not been able to go ahead because of a number of issues including noise, smell and drainage problems.

Ian Nicholls, who lives in Bedford, said: “In the council’s own Allocations and Designation plan, Fairhill is identified for employment use and a park and ride.

“It is morally wrong to now change that at one stroke of a pen without the same full and transparent public consultation that the other proposed sites were given.”

Councillor Ian Clifton, who was one of the first to back Meadow Lane as a permanent camp said he thought the Fairhill application was being ‘rushed’ because somewhere had to be found urgently.

Mayor Dave Hodgson has admitted that the £1.2 million government grant given to the council last year to open Meadow Lane, which expires in March 2015, would still not be enough to combat issues with the site.

He said: “I have put forward Fairhill because I believe we can get planning permission which gives us options to deliver a site quicker. The cost of Meadow Lane is certainly substantial but it is something we had to do to supply the necessary pitches.

“It has taken a lot longer than it should have.

“From how I understand it, the cost would be above the amount given in the government grant.”

The Mayor also said that the council land beside the proposed Gypsy site could still be used for a park and ride or employment use and the two could run side by side.

Councillor Alison Foster, who has campaigned for Meadow Lane to open in order to protect the rural villages from smaller encampments, said: “If the £1.2m grant to pay for Meadow Lane isn’t sufficient then the borough should put in an extra £500,000 itself because this is something we are obliged to do. There is enough money in reserve and if the council can spend £2m refurbishing Allhallows Car Park and £500,000 on the Archimedes Screw then there should be additional money given to this. I do not think money should be an issue. If it is a question of money the Mayor needs to spend it here instead of on pet projects.”

Councillor Colleen Atkins also expressed her disappointment at the possibility of Meadow Lane being replaced by Fairhill and said it had ‘come out of the blue’ for residents in Harpur ward and the surrounding areas.

She said: “I am deeply disappointed to hear there are problems with Meadow Lane. It is the preferred location for a Gypsy and Traveller site and is the most suitable to deliver a new, well managed site. A lot of work and expense has already gone into Meadow Lane and I think more time should be given to overcome any difficulties. Residents are telling us that the news of a possible site at Fairhill has come out of the blue to the neighbouring communities of Harpur, Biddenham, Bromham and Clapham.”

A Harpur resident, Andrea Spice, said: “The site is wedged in a triangle between two bypasses and a railway line. It’s under electricity pylons and right next to a large electricity sub station. I wouldn’t want to live there, the council wouldn’t consider it for housing, so they shouldn’t expect anyone else to live there either.

“Not only that, but it’s surrounded with red warning signs saying ‘Strictly no admittance. Japanese knotweed’.”

The council must find 20 pitches by 2021, with six already installed at Kempston Hardwick the authority must find another 14 elsewhere.