Swansea's Gypsy Traveller site short-list should be redrawn - Glamorgan

From This Is South Wales

AN AM has called for Swansea Council to back to the drawing board for a second Gypsy Traveller site.

Suzy Davies, Conservative member for South Wales West, has joined her colleague Byron Davies in objecting to all five potential sites on the short-list.

They are: Milford Way, Penplas, (Penderry); the former greyhound stadium (Cockett); the rear of Parc Melyn Mynach (Gorseinon); proposed cemetery (Gorseinon); and Swansea Vale (Llansamlet).

She also said she questioned whether "presenting a list of five candidate sites constitutes a 'strategy' to meet the needs of the travelling community as required by the Welsh Government".

Mrs Davies said: "Three of the sites are affected by the Gowerton sewage plant issue (Gorseinon sites and Cockett) and would therefore cause expensive problems for the authority with no financial contribution towards a solution from the occupants.

"Two of the sites (one in Gorseinon and Llansamlet) were open countryside and one is at the northern gateway into the city – which is not a great way for Swansea to capitalise on its new premiership status."

Mrs Davies also said the Cockett and Llansamlet sites had been earmarked for commercial development.

She added: "The council needs to go back to the drawing board and look a bit harder for suitable sites which fulfil all the criteria; which can provide a site suitable for families and their children but which do not take land for improving Swansea's economic development out of play and which do not wreck the residential amenity for other residents."

A lengthy consultation period was held and Swansea Council called on any interested parties to come forward. It ended on March 31. Thousands of people took part.

June Burtonshaw, cabinet member for place in Swansea council said: "A huge amount of work has been carried out by the council in its search for a suitable location to develop a second Gypsy and Traveller site. This has involved looking at every piece of available council-owned land in the city. These sites were then filtered down using set criteria to identify the most appropriate sites for further consideration.

"We are delighted with the level of response from residents all across Swansea who wanted to have their say as part of the three- month long consultation. We received more than 4,000 responses which will now be considered as part of the next stage."