Bury St Edmunds: Businesses happy as Travellers move to new car park - Suffolk

From EADP24

A group of Travellers has pitched up in another car park as they hope for a permanent site somewhere in the town.

The group has moved to the school yard east and west car parks off Risbygate Street in Bury St Edmunds after they left the Parkway surface car park behind Cineworld on Thursday night.

It is the fourth different car park the Travellers have moved to in less than a month after recent spells at Ram Meadow and St Andrews.

Anne Gower, St Edmundsbury’s cabinet member for housing, said: “They’ve made it quite clear they want to live in or around Bury St Edmunds and they would like their children to have an education. It’s their intention to stay.

“My ideal solution would be they can come forward and say we’ve identified this piece of land, we’d like to buy it and here’s a planning application.

“It’s very unfortunate because one of their wishes is their children need education, but how can these children be educated when every month they’re being moved on somewhere?

“It’s not a good situation for the travelling family, but I know about people on the housing register who have got a local connection that also want accommodation.”

Traders in the town had begun to voice concerns about the impact the Travellers were having during their spell at the Parkway surface car park, one of Bury’s busiest car parks, which had to be closed last Saturday as it reached capacity.

While the Travellers have moved closer to the town centre, the car park they are now occupying is much smaller.

Our Bury St Edmunds chief executive Mark Cordell said: “Some of our traders have spoken about concerns around the Travellers taking up valuable car parking space at a very busy time of year, therefore the fact the Travellers are no longer on the Parkway surface car park is welcome.

“With the next seven weeks being such an important trading period for the town, I’m delighted that the Parkway surface car park is now fully available.

“On behalf of businesses, I’m in regular dialogue with the council around this issue and they’re fully aware of traders’ concerns.”