Anger over £2.7m bill for Travellers' sites in Chesterton, Milton and Whaddon - Cambridgeshire

From Cambridge News

Buying and refurbishing three Travellers’ sites has been agreed by a council despite fears over the £2.7 million price tag.

Independents questioned how the spending could be afforded when so many cuts are being made as South Cambridgeshire District Council approved purchasing the plots in Milton, Chesterton and Whaddon yesterday.

Cllr Deborah Roberts, who represents Fowlmere and Foxton, told the meeting: “I would really like to understand where all this money is coming from.

“We are told constantly that we really are very short of money, we are all telling our parishes we have very little to give them for any improvements in their quality of life, and then we can suddenly find this sort of money.

“I don’t think we are the best people to be doing this, we should have thought what other organisations may be in the melting pot to do this to see if they could do a better job than us and save us all a lot of money.”

The most ambitious project, costing £1.1 million, will see the council purchase nine privately-owned pitches at Grassy Corner in Fen Road, Chesterton, which are currently very rundown.

The council would refurbish the plots and offer them to Travellers on its housing waiting list.

The other two sites, at Blackwell, near Milton, and between Whaddon and Bassingbourn, are currently owned by Cambridgeshire County Council, which is yet to agree the sale.

The latter will be refurbished when the deal goes through.

Of the total budget, the Government should provide about £1.9 million and up to £900,000 will come from the council.

Cabinet members said the spending came from the housing budget, which cannot be spent on other projects, and would be recovered in rent payments.

Council leader Cllr Ray Manning said: “In the same way we would expect to get a return on a council house, we would expect to get a return on these sites, so it’s absolutely no different.

“It is not coming out of council tax, it’s part of our duty to provide somewhere to live for everybody that we can.”

But Cllr Robin Page, who represents Haslingfield and the Eversdens, questioned whether the funding would be recovered.

He said: “I think it’s most unsatisfactory, when our villages are finding it so difficult to get money from this council, to see so much money suddenly appear.

“Why is this council so sure it will recover it all, and so sure that the rents will be paid?”

The council says the Fen Road project will improve the appearance of the area and reduce the need for plots elsewhere.

It comes after controversial plans to reopen the Mettle Hill site near Meldreth collapsed following a backlash from villagers.

Cllr Hazel Smith, who represents Milton, told the meeting that neighbours in Fen Road supported the proposal because council sites were well-run.