Swansea to act against Gypsy camp site

Swansea Council is set to take legal action against Gypsy Travellers camped unlawfully on land in the city. A site in Swansea Vale previously used as a park and ride facility for the Liberty Stadium has been used as an unauthorised campsite and has become plagued by fly-tipping. The Council will now seek a possession order to remove the vehicles and families unlawfully camped on the site and secure it against further fly-tipping. John Hague, Cabinet Member for Environment , said: "The Swansea Vale site has been affected by unauthorised camping. We need to tackle these issues and return the site to its use as a park and ride facility. "To achieve this we will be applying for a possession order with the courts.

Travellers seek permanent village home - East Yorkshire

Planners are recommending refusal of plans for a permanent home for a family of Irish Travellers in East Yorkshire which villagers fear could become another Dale Farm. There has been concern ever since the family set up camp on the outskirts of Keyingham last September after buying the land. The following month they put in an application for retrospective planning permission. The Travellers, who built a hard-standing area for their caravans on the weekend they moved in, are now seeking approval for “continued use of land as a residential gipsy site” at a meeting at County Hall in Beverley next week. As well as having four caravans, they are also seeking permission to build a toilet block and sewage treatment plant. Some residents say they feel intimidated when they pass the site and fear granting planning permission will set a precedent for more Travellers to come to the village, the family reportedly having bought enough land for 200 caravans.

Top Tory hits out at 'bigoted views' on Gypsy sites - Kidderminster

A LEADING Wyre Forest Conservative has condemned what he called an opposition councillor’s “bigoted views” after he claimed a Gypsy sites in Stourport would create a ghetto and increase crime.

Leader of Independent Community and Health Concern (ICHC), Nigel Thomas, said he believed the sites chosen by Wyre Forest District Council for consultation “indicates that the people of Stourport can be treated as second class citizens.”
He added: “ICHC feel very strongly that the sites should be distributed evenly throughout Wyre Forest. We fear the failure to do so will create a ghetto and may even lead to no-go areas, with a great fear that there will be an increase in criminal activity.”
Responding, the district council leader said the proposed sites were not all in Stourport. He added: “I also would condemn councillor Thomas’s suggested connection between the establishment of Gypsy and Traveller pitches and the level of crime. This assertion is both racist and discriminatory.
“Councillor Thomas and ICHC should recognise that we live in a tolerant and inclusive society and that their bigoted views are not acceptable.”

Paddy Doherty hits the road after Gypsy Council fall out with Salford council

Paddy Doherty has quit his job running Salford’s Duchy Road caravan site – after his bosses fell out with the town hall. The Celebrity Big Brother winner had been caretaker of the 30-plot council-owned site since 1998. He ran it on behalf of the National Gypsy Council, which had a management contract with Salford council. As revealed on Monday, he has now moved to North Wales. Now the Gypsy Council has told us it is ‘disillusioned’ with the way the council has behaved – and has washed its hands of Duchy Road altogether. Salford housing provider Salix has taken over.

Hughie Smith, president of the Gypsy Council, said the site has been neglected. He said some caravans were in desperate need of modernisation but the council only upgraded four. He said: "There’s still 11 plots where people are using these old, steel pillar box toilets. They are living in misery." Last year the council spent £200,000 upgrading the site. The government provided £150,000 while Salford council picked up the rest of the bill. But Mr Smith said Salford should have applied for more cash. He said the council had also broken a promise to provide temporary gypsy plots on a former scrapyard next door. Mr Smith said the Gypsy Council and Mr Doherty walked away from the arrangement following a series of crisis meetings with the council over the last year. He added: "We terminated the agreement we had a couple of months go. "We are very disillusioned with the authority. They say they are working for the people but they are certainly not working for Gypsies."

Paddy Doherty hit the headlines in March after the council decided to investigate the site’s finances, including £1m of rent collected by the TV star over 12 years. It eventually concluded there had been no foul play, but said it wanted ‘greater transparency’ in any future arrangements. When talks to redraw the contract failed, Salix stepped in. Councillor Peter Connor, lead member for housing at Salford council, said: "There are far more plots available in Salford than a lot of other local authorities provide and... we have recently carried out improvements at the site. Salix Homes will now continue to ensure the site is properly maintained for residents."

Potential Traveller sites shortlisted for Purbeck _ Dorset

FOUR potential gypsy sites have been shortlisted for Purbeck, as part of ongoing countywide plans to accommodate Travellers.
The sites, named hot-on-the-heels of Essex’s hugely controversial £18m Dale Farm eviction, will now go out for public consultation. The potential Purbeck pitches include:
• Two pitches at County Farm, Burnham Lane/Washpond Lane.
• Five pitches on land off High Street, Herston Cross, Swanage.
• Two pitches on land at Washpond Lane and Ulwell Road, Swanage.
• Two pitches on land adjacent to Meadow View, East Burton Road, Wool.

Travellers Will Not Have New Home at Neston's Clayhill - Chester

A meeting of Cheshire West and Chester Council's Conservative Group members last night heard that a business with a substantial existing presence on the Clayhill Light Industrial Park off Liverpool Road, will be given the option to purchase the land that they had previously expressed an interest in. The site will now be taken off the list going forward to the Planning Committee.

When six potential Traveller sites in the Cheshire West and Chester area were announced in early September, the suggestion that one of these be located adjacent to Neston's only industrial park, one of the area's few centres of employment, was roundly criticised.  

Travellers set up camp in Newcastle

GYPSIES  have set up camp in Newcastle. The Travellers have declared that they will stay there "for life" after descending on a car park just outside the city centre. Dozens of families, with caravans, transit vans and pets in tow started arriving near to the Sage Great Park, in Gosforth, on Saturday - and are now refusing to budge. One Traveller, who did not give his name, but spoke with an Irish accent said: "We were kicked out of Dale Farm. You probably saw it on the television. We have nowhere to go. "It is a life on the road now." His partner added: "We are here for life now." Others added that they now need a place to "call home" and somewhere for their children to "get an education". Last week, hundreds of travellers took over Team Valley Trading Estate, in Gateshead. They brought with them around 30 caravans, cars, vans and gas cylinders .


They've even bought gas cylinders with them! Whatever next...

Purbeck to consult on possible Gypsy and Traveller sites - Dorset

Purbeck District Council is to consult on possible sites for Gypsies and Travellers, but more are required across the district. The government requires local councils to find suitable sites to accommodate Gypsies and Travellers within their areas. In Dorset, the district councils, county council and Poole and Bournemouth councils are working together to produce a joint plan for Gypsy and Traveller sites across the county. The councils have jointly appointed planning consultants, Baker Associates, to carry out this work. Initial estimates have shown that 21 residential (permanent) pitches and 20 transit pitches would be required to meet the current need within the district of Purbeck.

Gypsy family's site set for approval - Oxford

A family of Gypsies who hope to create a better life for their children look likely to get planning permission to set up site on Green Belt land. Two sisters-in-law, who do not want to be named, and their 12 children moved on to land off Woodstock Road, near Yarnton, in August. They told the Oxford Mail they wanted to send their children to school, adding: “We do not want our children to turn out like we did.” The plot was bought for them at auction by a family friend and they have applied to change the use from agriculture to a gypsy and traveller site. Cherwell District Council officers have recommended approval, saying the harm to the Green Belt is “outweighed by the factors submitted by the applicant”. The women want permission for three caravan pitches, two amenity buildings and a parking area. There are currently four caravans on the site. District councillors, who meet on Thursday to decide on the plan, have received three letters of objection, citing Green Belt status, environmental issues and noise from generators and dogs. The Environment Agency, Yarnton and Gosford & Water Eaton parish councils and the Oxford Green Belt Network have also objected.

Dorset seeking Travellers' sites

They are high on the government's agenda and firmly in the public eye, following the clearance of Dale Farm in Essex. Now the subject of Gypsy and Traveller sites is causing controversy in Dorset.

There are currently five permanent legal Traveller encampments in the county while about 100 locations are being looked at as potential sites.However, councillors and local residents feel many of the proposed locations are unsuitable Joseph P Jones, spokesman for the Gypsy Council, said members of the travelling community had been part of society for hundreds of years.He added: "I can't understand why there is so much opposition, we belong here - we're not new arrivals."