Travellers sites in Devon and Cornwall get £3m funding

More Traveller sites are to be set up in the South West.

It comes after UK councils were invited to bid for their share of £60m of government funding overseen by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

The aim is to assist Traveller communities with better facilities and reduce unauthorised sites.

The money awarded includes £1.2m for 30 pitches across Cornwall, £1.1m for 15 pitches in Teignbridge, and £790,000 for 15 pitches in Plymouth.

Plymouth City Council said the money would "reduce unauthorised encampments" and "save thousands" in costs.

Last year there were 40 unauthorised encampments in the city and the authority said it cost about £300,000 a year to clean up after people who had illegally set up home.

'Financial benefits'

Councillor Ted Fry, cabinet member for planning, strategic housing and economic development, said: "If we can meet the needs of Gypsies and Travellers in a planned way, we can tackle these rising costs."
There are currently about 20 unauthorised sites around Cornwall.

Mark Kaczmarek, Cornwall Council's cabinet member for housing and planning, said the council was "committed to ensuring that members of the travelling communities have the same rights and responsibilities as every other person".

Mr Kaczmarek said the council was keen to "recognise and protect the traditional way of life of the travelling communities while respecting the interests of the settled community".

Communities minister Andrew Stunell said: "New authorised sites, with the support of local communities, will be treated on an equal footing as new bricks-and-mortar homes, with councils getting powerful financial benefits for building authorised sites where they are needed."

see also: Money secured for Traveller sites

Four new Stourport sites added to Traveller pitch shortlist - Kidderminster

ANOTHER four places in Stourport have been added to Wyre Forest's Gypsy and Traveller site shortlist.

Following consultation on seven potential sites, Wyre Forest District Council has been asked by residents to consider the following additional areas:

• The Gatehouse, Sandy Lane - eight pitches
• 28/29 Sandy Lane - six pitches
•1a Broach Road - one pitch.
• Land off Wilden Lane - one site for travelling showpeople north of the industrial estate.

District council officers have already decided to recommend the following Stourport sites:

• Saiwen, Sandy Lane - five pitches.
• Nunn’s Corner, Sandy Lane - four pitches.
• The Gables Yard, Broach Road three pitches.

These are all areas where Gypsy and Traveller communities are already living without formal authorisation.

Officers have also recommended that sites at Manor Farm in Stourport, Stourport Road in Bewdley, the former Sion Hill school in Wolverley and Lea Castle in Cookley should be struck off the shortlist.
Councillors have not yet discussed the four new sites but will consider them at meetings in January.

If Councillors decide that one or more of the plots should be included in the Site Allocations and Policies Development Plan Document, it will consult on them for six weeks, but no public meetings are planned.
The additional round of consultation is expected to take place in February and March to give residents a chance to have their say.

Liberal leader on the district council, Fran Oborski, who chairs the Local Development Framework (LDF) panel, said: “On this occasion, it is helpful that people should know what officers are recommending to the panel so that there is full transparency about the process.”

She added: “The panel looks forward to considering the responses to the recent consultation and discussing the officers’ recommendations with them before it formulates its conclusions for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.”

Independent councillor Helen Dyke, chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said: “I have decided to hold a special meeting of the committee, solely to consider the latest round of proposals on site allocations for Gypsies, Travellers and travelling Showpeople. Anyone with an interest can come along and hear our debate.”

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee will meet at 6pm on Monday, January 30, in Stourport Civic Hall.
The LDF panel meets on Monday, January, 16 to consider the consultation responses and officers’ recommendations. This panel never meets in public.

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s recommendations will be considered by the cabinet at 6pm on Tuesday, January 31 in Stourport Civic Hall. It will make the decision on what further consultation is undertaken.

Gypsy site January consultation events - Dorset

Residents can have their say on Travellers sites when consultation events take place next week across West Dorset and Weymouth & Portland.

West Dorset District Council and Weymouth & Portland Borough Council will hold five of the events to invite views on the issues and options of the proposed sites.

The public have been invited to have their say on the proposals since consultation began on 18 November and will be able to make comments until 10 February.

Planning authorities across Dorset are working together with Dorset County Council to produce a Development Plan Document.  It is hoped that the partnership will drive costs down and resolve any cross-boundary issues.

The plan will seek to allocate permanent and transit sites to meet the county’s needs for the next 15 years.
Gypsies and Travellers are protected from discrimination by the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Human Rights Act 1998, together with all ethnic groups who have a particular culture, language or values.
Local authorities are obliged by the government to look at providing land for Traveller sites if shown the sites are needed.

In 2006, the Dorset Traveller Needs Assessment identified the need for additional Traveller pitches across Dorset for the years 2011-26.

Consultants Baker Associates were tasked to identify and assess potentially suitable locations against strict criteria, in order to draw up a shortlist of options to put forward to each council.

All the partner authorities agreed that, on receiving such a list, they would put it out to residents for consultation, without endorsing or recommending any of the sites.

Having enough authorised sites assists the police in using special powers to move Travellers who camp illegally on private or public land.

Properly managed sites can help to reduce problems with associated anti-social behaviour and limits the detrimental effects on travelling communities’ health, education and well-being.

Robert Gould, Leader of West Dorset District Council, said: “As a planning authority, West Dorset District Council has an important role to play in identifying suitable locations for Traveller sites. There are many challenges, but in order to solve the problem of unauthorised encampments we need a planning policy in place that offers greater certainty for the travelling community.”

Ian Roebuck, Brief Holder for Environment and Sustainability at Weymouth & Portland Borough Council said: “The public consultations give Weymouth and Portland residents the chance to have their say in the future of Gypsy and Traveller sites in the area.

“The borough council is working together with all the local authorities across Dorset to comply with the requirements defined in 2006 and to identify the best possible locations – within the constraints on development which planning policies impose on everyone – to ensure the needs of Gypsies and Travellers are met.”

The public consultations will take place on:

• 9 January 12-3pm—Corn Exchange, Dorchester
• 9 January 5-8pm—The Ocean Room, Weymouth Pavilion
• 10 January 12-3pm—The Ocean Room, Weymouth Pavilion
• 10 January 5-8pm—Beaminster Town Hall, Beaminster
• 12 January 6-8pm—St Andrew’s Hall, Yetminster

For more information visit www.dorsetforyou.com/gypsyandtravellersites

Delays for Rossfield Road Gypsy and Traveller site proposals - Ellesmere Port

A DECISION on whether to build a controversial Gypsy site in Ellesmere Port has been hit by delays – after a council committee member was taken ill.

Proposals for the 15-pitch site on a council depot on Rossfield Road, Overpool, have led to an outcry from frustrated residents and business owners.

In November, Cheshire West and Chester Council Labour Group ‘called in’ the council’s decision to ditch plans for similar sites in Neston and Saughall.

The group supported the withdrawal, but claimed the executive had ‘failed in their duty’ to properly consult concerned residents.

The call-in was due for consideration by the council’s corporate scrutiny committee last month. But the meeting was postponed after Cllr Herbert Manley, executive member for prosperity, was hospitalised with pneumonia.

The call-in will now be considered on Monday, January 16. The delay has meant the proposals will no longer be considered by the council’s strategic planning committee on January 12, as planned.

Labour group leader Cllr Justin Madders said the meeting was likely to be delayed until February or March.
He said: “We got an assurance from the chairman that until the call-in’s been concluded there will be no decision.”

Cllr Madders said he was hopeful the meeting would take place in Ellesmere Port, rather than at the council’s HQ Building on Nicholas Street, Chester.

“My understanding is that they’ll be dealt with in Ellesmere Port, which is only right really. It’s important that the people who are affected are able to attend.”

A council spokesman said the process would not be taken further until the call-in was completed, adding it would ‘become more Ellesmere Port-central’.

Rossmore Industrial Estate business owners – some of whom have threatened to close if the site is given the green light – have questioned the suitability of the estate for a residential site.

A resident’s committee has also been formed to oppose the plans.

Crewe and Nantwich MP set to fight Gypsy site plans at council meeting

CREWE and Nantwich MP Edward Timpson aims to scupper plans for a Gypsy camp in Coppenhall.

The council wants the Gypsy camp on a field at the junction of Parkers Road and Kent Lane.

It is unusual for MPs to address council committees but no date has yet been set for the planning board meeting. If Mr Timpson is unavoidably kept in London on affairs of State when it does come up, he will send a senior staff member to represent him and the views of his constituents.

The MP, who was with members of Crewe Against Travellers Sites (CATS) when they presented a 5,500 signature petition to Downing Street in November, said: “I’ve written to the chief executive and council leader to inform them that I, with members of CATs, presented a copy of the petition at 10 Downing Street. To ensure my support for my constituents is heard loud and clear, I intend to speak at the planning committee when the future of the site is determined.”

CATS has also presented the petition to Cheshire East.

CATS secretary Wendy Middleton said: “The number of signatures gathered in a short space of time shows the strength of feeling against this camp. Our aim is to trigger a full council debate on this ill-thought plan.”
CATS chairman, Glenn Perris, said: “Cheshire East are delaying because they say they are trying to get it right.That’s impossible as it’s fundamentally flawed in so many aspects.”

The group stresses it is a non-racist organisation and is fighting to find a site ‘fair’ to Travellers, residents and the council tax payers.

“How much more of our money are they prepared to waste until the application finally fails?

“We will win this campaign,” said Mr Perris.

Big crowds gather for traditional horse fair - Peterborough

HUNDREDS of horse lovers descended on Peterborough traditional New Year’s Day fair.

The 11th horse fair returned to the car park at Peterborough United ground in London Road yesterday and saw huge crowds flock to the city.

They were there to see a display of hundreds of horses and grab the chance to pick up a bargain at the same time.

The event has become a celebrated tradition in the travelling community.

Organiser Jack Cunningham was pleased to see it still attracting crowds more than a decade after it was started, originally in Parnwell, Peterborough.

He said: “It is a great chance for people to show their horses and buy a bit of horse tack.
“It’s difficult to know how many people come to this event but it looks like there are healthy numbers. They come from all over the country and Ireland. We have visitors from Newcastle and the south as well as some from closer to Peterborough. The event is for everybody, not just the travelling community, and there were lots of people there.”

The mild weather helped the turnout, which has increased since the first event in 2001 when there were just 20 horses on display

The event is now a New Year tradition in Peterborough, with visitors of all ages attracted to the city to start the year with a celebration of horses which sees about 500 animals on display every year.
Visitors love the chance to pet the well-groomed animals as they pass through the crowds led by their owners as well as admire the handsome animals.

There was a festive atmosphere yesterday, with dozens of families mingling, catching up and enjoying themselves.

And a range of attractions provided entertainment from early on New Year’s Day.

The car park echoed to the sound of whinnying and stamping of hooves as the horses were paraded around the ground.

Although most of the horses at the fair were on display there was also plenty of trading between owners.
Horse experts enjoyed a mixture of trotting horses and driving cob horses on show as well as smaller ponies which the owners proudly displayed.

Meanwhile, traditional Romany caravans were exhibited while horse owners could pick up attractive tack and other equipment for their animals.

Mr Cunningham said: “It has gone well for the last 11 years and I am sure it will keep going for many more to come.”

Record number of Travellers came to Warwickshire in 2011

A RECORD number of Travellers came to Warwickshire last year – but the service that looks after sites in the area still turned a healthy profit.

Figures released by Warwickshire County Council show that so far this financial year Gypsy and Traveller services at the council has brought in £81,141.

That’s despite a record-breaking 700 families coming to the county and staying on a variety of legal and illegal sites set up to cope with demand.

The council service has had to cope with the huge influx as well as managing two of their own sites in Alvecote, North Warwickshire and Bermuda, in Nuneaton.

They also look after Coventry City Council’s Siskin Drive site, in Toll Bar End.

In the last two years the authority has made small losses on looking after the sites – but in that period they undertook extensive refurbishment programmes on the sites.

“This year we have had 700 travelling families coming through Warwickshire,” Rob Leahy, Gypsy and Traveller team leader with Warwickshire County Council.
“
It’s a big increase and is a great burden on us and we have to deal with that as well as look after three sites.”

The influx has led to illegal sites popping up all over the county before most are swiftly dispersed.

Others have led to long-standing planning disputes, with one temporary site in Barnacle being established in 2003.

New Gypsy site plan to cost council £28k - Bedfordshire

Up to £28,000 of taxpayers’ money could be spent on submitting a new application for a Gypsy site just months after the council scrapped the idea.

Bedford Borough Council, in a report to its executive members, say that it will cost the authority £18,000 to apply for planning permission for a permanent Gypsy site at Meadow Lane, Bedford, and a further £5k to £10k for noise and odour assessments.

To make matters worse the authority admits that these costs for the Traveller site will be ‘abortive’ if permission is refused and even if it is granted the council says ‘there’s a risk it ‘will be unable to fund the implementation of the scheme or identify a delivery partner.’ In July the borough council had dumped plans for a permanent pitch at the site on the basis it was too noisy and smelly for caravan dwellers.

At the time both Mayor Dave Hodgson and Deputy Mayor Charles Royden blasted government red-tape for the breakdown of the scheme.

But last month Bedfordshire on Sunday revealed how a £6k independent report commissioned by the council found that noise was ‘not a sufficient’ enough reason to refuse planning permission.

It conflicted findings by the council’s own officers that said it would be ‘inappropriate to grant permission’ based on noise and odour.

Cllr Charles Royden said: “It is vital to secure this addition to our expansion at Kempston Hardwick as quickly as possible and Mayor Dave Hodgson has campaigned with government concerning the ridiculous legislation which has delayed the process and created obstacles to achieving planning permission.

Provision at Meadow Lane is important to enable the council to influence the location of sites in line with its planning policies as well as support the continued action taken against unauthorised encampments across the borough, which has been more robust than ever before. It is also important to establish Meadow Lane in order to save taxpayers the considerable financial costs incurred from the protracted legal proceedings required to secure evictions and the further costs of clearing up waste and rubbish after these evictions have taken place.

It will be for the Executive to decide, having regard for the identified risks within the report, whether or not to adopt the recommendations. It is not possible to confirm the date by which permanent accommodation would be made available until necessary permissions and method of delivery have been established.”

BASSETLAW Council has extended its public site consultation

BASSETLAW Council has extended its public consultation period until 31st January 2012 over plans to build more than 6,000 houses, new employment land and Gypsy and Traveller plots.

For more information about the consultation and public events, visit www.bassetlaw.gov.uk or call the switchboard on 01909 533533.

Gypsy Campaigner Janie Codona gets MBE

A member of the travelling community, who works to promote understanding, has been made an MBE.

Janie Codona, of Marshland St James, between Wisbech and King’s Lynn, was a finalist in the EDP Norfolk People of the Year Awards 2010 and works tirelessly for the travelling community.

She is the manager of One Voice 4 Travellers – a group of women, children and young adults from within the travelling community who work to reduce violence both to the Travellers and from them.

The charity works across the Midlands and East Anglia with members of the Gypsy and Traveller community, particularly women and young girls, who have been affected either directly or indirectly by violence.

Her citation said: “She is a role model for the community and well respected by government, local government officials and service providers alike. She uses her past experiences constructively to raise awareness of the problems facing the community and seeks to build bridges.”

Mrs Codona, 54, was appointed as a commissioner on the Commission for Racial Equality. She is the first traveller woman to take on the position.

She is also a member of the Metropolitan Police’s Gypsy and Traveller Advisory Group and provides cultural awareness training to a number of organisations including prison officers, police and schools.