Council Acts To Strengthen Gypsy And Traveller Plan - Bedfordshire

From About My Area

Central Bedfordshire Council will be considering changes to its draft Gypsy and Traveller Local Plan over the next few months.

Before progressing the draft Plan any further the council needs to look at points raised by a Planning Inspector and the Secretary of State in a recent planning appeal regarding a site in Heath and Reach. This extended process will seek to strengthen the Plan.

Cllr Nigel Young, Executive Member for Sustainable Communities (Strategic Planning and Economic Development) explained: "As well as looking at the suggestions made during the public consultation, we'll be looking at the points raised by a Planning Inspector and Secretary of State in regards to the Mile Tree Road appeal and consider their impact on our approach.

"We see this as is a useful opportunity to look again at some of the issues raised, consider our evidence and possibly make some changes going forward. This will take some time so we won't be taking this to Overview and Scrutiny Committee in October, as we thought we would be able to.

"As soon as we have any more information on the Plan and changes to it, we'll be letting people know and taking it to our Overview and Scrutiny Committee sometime in the new year."

The new timetable means that any amendments to the Plan will not be published until the new year.

For more background information, visit http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/gypsytravellerplan/tblank.