Authority has ‘room for manoeuvre’ over Travellers’ sites, says councillor - Yorkshire

From the Press

A YORK councillor claims Labour is being “economical with the truth” over controversial plans to allocate land at Knapton for a showpeople’s yard.

Rural West Tory councillor Chris Steward has spoken out after Labour’s housing cabinet member, Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing, told The Press the council had not proposed the location, and it was in the draft Local Plan because the land owner had ticked a box saying they would be willing for it to be considered for such a use.

Coun Steward said that, according to the Government’s planning policy for Traveller sites document, local authorities had room to consider a variety of options regarding Traveller sites, could make their own assessment of the need for and the scale of such sites, and were encouraged to consider joining with neighbouring authorities to appropriately site these facilities.

He said: “Clearly, the council has more room to manoeuvre than Coun Simpson-Laing is letting on.

“Further, the Government’s policy states, and I quote, ‘Traveller sites (temporary or permanent) in the Green Belt are inappropriate development’.”

He claimed Labour had not thoroughly explored other options, including working with neighbouring authorities to look at cooperating on new sites and had not answered the issues of placing these sites in green-belt positions.