From the South Wales Evening Post
THE ongoing Travellers site row in Swansea has proved an internet hit for the council.
Last week's meting to discuss the issue was the first ever to be broadcast live on the web and was watched by more than 1,000 viewers.
The meeting to discuss proposals for a second permanent Traveller site saw 800 viewers watch it live, with almost 500 picking it up afterwards.
The interest in the Travellers issue means that the council will now broadcast the next cabinet meeting during which the issue will be discussed.
A report identifying two parcels of land for a second official Travellers site in Swansea was thrown out last week.
It means a new search for a site has now begun.
Christine Richards, deputy leader and cabinet member for citizen, community engagement and democracy, said: "This was the first time the council has ever broadcast its proceedings live and on the internet.
"It's encouraging that so many people were interested and took the time to tune in to see the debate going on.
"Our aim was to ensure that everyone who wanted to get involved in the debate had the opportunity to participate whether it was through attending the meeting itself or watching it online.
"What this shows is that people will want to watch council proceedings on important issues that interest them.
"Cabinet is due to consider the recommendations from the council meeting next week and that meeting will be broadcast live via the internet as well."
Mrs Richards added: "The decision to broadcast the meetings is part of the council's commitment to openness, ensuring that people have the opportunity to see their council in action."
The council has to create a second permanent Gypsy and Traveller site because the existing site at Pantyblawd Road is full.
A three-month consultation on a five-site shortlist ended in March 2013 and resulted in more than 3,000 responses along with a number of petitions.
The proceedings from the extraordinary meeting of council can still be seen by going to www.swansea.public-i.tv/core
Future meetings due to be broadcast include the cabinet meeting of November 12.
Tuesday, 29 October 2013
Monday, 28 October 2013
Former park and ride site is reoccupied by French Travellers - Wiltshire
From the Swindon Advertiser
ROMANY Gypsies who moved on to the old Groundwell Road Park and Ride on Saturday hope to be able to stay there for a week.
More than 50 Travellers from Paris – all members of the same family – moved on to the site after claiming they found the main gates unlocked.
Police were called to the site within an hour of the Travellers parking up to monitor the situation.
Carlos Porado, a spokesman for the group who arrived in 12 caravans, said they were a good Christian family and had come to Swindon after their last stop in Scotland.
He said: “We were here for only 50 minutes before the police arrived. People always say we will make a mess, and we will steal. But we keep it clean and we don’t rob. We want people to come and say hello, to come and have a drink with us and sit down and have a meal with us.
“All people are the same, English, Roma, Irish, Canadian, French, German. We all have the same blood and we are no different to you. This is what Jesus Christ says. We are no different, except we live in caravans and you live in one place.”
The land is owned by Swindon Council, who were alerted by the police when the gypsies were known to have pulled in.
A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said: “We received a call out at 1pm on Saturday. We attended to keep an eye on the situation and are currently in the process of liasing with the council as well as the land owners to resolve the situation.”
It is the second time in a month the site has been occupied by Travellers.
Last month a group stayed for 24 hours after being moved off Dale Farm in Essex.
And in August the building on the site was gutted by a fire.
The park and ride service was binned by the council in 2009 after being considered a drain on resources.
Since then, concerns over vandalism on the site have led to a series of proposals for a new use but these have failed to get off the ground.
The nearest legal site dedicated for use by Travellers is the Chiseldon Firs transit site which is managed by the council. The site, located on the A346 between Swindon and Marlborough, can accommodate between 12 and 20 caravans.
For more information about sites where Travellers can legally stay can be found at www.swindon.gov.uk.
ROMANY Gypsies who moved on to the old Groundwell Road Park and Ride on Saturday hope to be able to stay there for a week.
More than 50 Travellers from Paris – all members of the same family – moved on to the site after claiming they found the main gates unlocked.
Police were called to the site within an hour of the Travellers parking up to monitor the situation.
Carlos Porado, a spokesman for the group who arrived in 12 caravans, said they were a good Christian family and had come to Swindon after their last stop in Scotland.
He said: “We were here for only 50 minutes before the police arrived. People always say we will make a mess, and we will steal. But we keep it clean and we don’t rob. We want people to come and say hello, to come and have a drink with us and sit down and have a meal with us.
“All people are the same, English, Roma, Irish, Canadian, French, German. We all have the same blood and we are no different to you. This is what Jesus Christ says. We are no different, except we live in caravans and you live in one place.”
The land is owned by Swindon Council, who were alerted by the police when the gypsies were known to have pulled in.
A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said: “We received a call out at 1pm on Saturday. We attended to keep an eye on the situation and are currently in the process of liasing with the council as well as the land owners to resolve the situation.”
It is the second time in a month the site has been occupied by Travellers.
Last month a group stayed for 24 hours after being moved off Dale Farm in Essex.
And in August the building on the site was gutted by a fire.
The park and ride service was binned by the council in 2009 after being considered a drain on resources.
Since then, concerns over vandalism on the site have led to a series of proposals for a new use but these have failed to get off the ground.
The nearest legal site dedicated for use by Travellers is the Chiseldon Firs transit site which is managed by the council. The site, located on the A346 between Swindon and Marlborough, can accommodate between 12 and 20 caravans.
For more information about sites where Travellers can legally stay can be found at www.swindon.gov.uk.
Osbaldwick Travellers’ site extension agreed - Yorkshire
From the Press
PLANS to extend an Osbaldwick Travellers’ site, branded “unmanageable” by neighbours, are to go ahead despite objections from villagers, parish councils, the city councillor and the MP for the area.
The city council’s planning committee approved the proposals for six more pitches at the site in Outgang Lane, after a debate lasting nearly three hours and taking five votes before a decision could be made.
Council officers planning the extension said more pitches were desperately needed to relieve overcrowding on the site, but those opposing the scheme are now calling for a public inquiry into the decision and the scheme, which will be paid for by central government money.
Coun Mark Warters, who represents Osbaldwick on City of York council, said wheels were already in motion to see the plans examined by a government inspector, and local MP Julian Sturdy has called the decision “profoundly disappointing.”
David Shaw farms the land around the site, and told the meeting that damage to his crops, illegal grazing, and hay theft has cost him £9,000 in one year.
He fears more pitches will only make matters worse unless it the site properly managed.
MP Julian Sturdy has slammed the decision, saying the council should not be contemplating extending it until they can bring it under control.
He said: “Their failure to do this over the years has impacted greatly on the quality of life for neighbouring residents and local business owners.
“I have been asking the council to show me a management plan for the site for over a year and yet they only managed to cobble one together when the prospect of government funding came about. Likewise, they were happy for the site to remain in an awful condition for many years and only took action to clean it up when they heard public officials coming for a site visit.
“I will continue to work with local residents and parish councillors, to do whatever we can to prevent spades from hitting the ground until the council have regained the public trust.”
see also: The York Conservatives - Open Letter from Paul Doughty about Osbaldwick Travellers Site
PLANS to extend an Osbaldwick Travellers’ site, branded “unmanageable” by neighbours, are to go ahead despite objections from villagers, parish councils, the city councillor and the MP for the area.
The city council’s planning committee approved the proposals for six more pitches at the site in Outgang Lane, after a debate lasting nearly three hours and taking five votes before a decision could be made.
Council officers planning the extension said more pitches were desperately needed to relieve overcrowding on the site, but those opposing the scheme are now calling for a public inquiry into the decision and the scheme, which will be paid for by central government money.
Coun Mark Warters, who represents Osbaldwick on City of York council, said wheels were already in motion to see the plans examined by a government inspector, and local MP Julian Sturdy has called the decision “profoundly disappointing.”
David Shaw farms the land around the site, and told the meeting that damage to his crops, illegal grazing, and hay theft has cost him £9,000 in one year.
He fears more pitches will only make matters worse unless it the site properly managed.
MP Julian Sturdy has slammed the decision, saying the council should not be contemplating extending it until they can bring it under control.
He said: “Their failure to do this over the years has impacted greatly on the quality of life for neighbouring residents and local business owners.
“I have been asking the council to show me a management plan for the site for over a year and yet they only managed to cobble one together when the prospect of government funding came about. Likewise, they were happy for the site to remain in an awful condition for many years and only took action to clean it up when they heard public officials coming for a site visit.
“I will continue to work with local residents and parish councillors, to do whatever we can to prevent spades from hitting the ground until the council have regained the public trust.”
see also: The York Conservatives - Open Letter from Paul Doughty about Osbaldwick Travellers Site
Are You Prejudiced Towards Roma and Travellers, Or Are You Right? A Five-Step Checklist
From the Huffington Post
Did you instantly believe that the Roma had abducted any of the three children taken from their families in Ireland or Greece this month? Pause a moment. Have a look at yourself. Why did you believe it?
read more...
Did you instantly believe that the Roma had abducted any of the three children taken from their families in Ireland or Greece this month? Pause a moment. Have a look at yourself. Why did you believe it?
read more...
Sunday, 27 October 2013
The grim history of the Roma is no fairy tale
From the Independent
It was like a doom-laden fairy tale from the Dark Ages. A sweet little girl, instantly dubbed the blonde angel, stolen by a swarthy Roma couple who looked shifty and shady as people always do in police mugshots. The story tapped into ancient fears of greedy Gypsies stealing innocent children, of good versus evil at its most rudimentary level.
The shock waves rippled across Europe, sowing fear and loathing. In Ireland – a country with a shameful record of hostility towards travelling people – a seven-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy were ripped from their families despite having birth certificates and passports in perfect order. In Serbia, skinheads tried to take a fair-haired Roma child from his parents. In Britain, broadcasters and newspapers reheated scare stories and, with minimal evidence, stoked the fires of living hell for families of missing children such as Madeleine McCann.
For all the wild claims of child theft and trafficking gangs on the rampage, we do not know the full story of that blonde Bulgarian girl found in Greece. It may be a sordid saga of stolen or sold children, or simply the kind of informal adoption common in many communities. Whatever the truth, one single incident no more shows that Roma tend to be child-snatchers than the Stuart Hall case proves football commentators are paedophiles.
It would be nice to think we have moved on from days when the actions of an individual damn an entire community, or from eugenicist ideas that races or communities are predisposed towards certain actions. Sadly, this week showed these corrosive concepts still hold society in their cruel grip – something well understood by other marginalised groups, most notably people with disabilities. Try replacing the word Roma with Jew, or Gypsy with gay, to illustrate the attitudes on display.
If you strip away the myths and moral panic, the reality is far more disturbing. For all the hoary claims there is zero hard evidence of Roma stealing children – yet fears about "dirty Gypsies" have sanctioned the theft of their own children by the state in Britain even within my lifetime. Families were forced into forest compounds, boys put in the army, girls sent into service.
The author Katharine Quarmby tells the story in her recent book No Place To Call Home of one boy taken by officials from his family's tent in Fife and placed in children's homes, where he was sexually abused. His mother spent the rest of her life hunting for him, dying at the age of 41 without seeing her son again. Scottish authorities have never apologised for such disgraceful actions, which continued into the 1960s. Similar enforced family break-ups were seen in Western Europe for at least another decade.
Today there are Roma chefs, clerics and lawyers, yet although it is the size of the Chinese community, this excluded group endures lower life expectancy and higher rates of infant mortality and adult suicide than other Britons. Liberals who howl in outrage over racism happily use hate language such as "pikey" and "gyppo", while police prompt false claims of Faganism and television feeds stereotypes with freak-show programmes. Now we see Roma used to fuel immigration concerns as EU restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians are lifted.
This loathing is the legacy of medieval fears over dark-skinned nomadic outsiders, when laws were passed permitting their branding, enslavement, exile, even execution. In Victorian times, Roma and Gypsies were romanticised by writers even as they were scapegoated and criminalised during economic downturns. Later, they were the forgotten victims of the Nazis, with up to half a million slaughtered; in death camps they were frequently singled out for the most horrific medical experiments.
Never again? Maybe not mass extermination, but Europe's 10 million Roma are still victims of abuse, prejudice and poverty. I was shocked to discover the hatred towards them in Hungary; they are unable to get jobs, segregated, and their children classified as mentally handicapped to keep them out of mainstream schools. The governing party blames them for crime while honouring a leader who deported families to Auschwitz, and vigilante groups terrorise their villages and firebomb their homes. One gang was jailed two months ago for a 14-month murder spree; a child of five was among the dead.
There are similar stories across the Continent, forcing fearful families to the fringes of society.
In Italy, where mobs attacked their camps five years ago and the prime minister responded in the most racist manner by ordering the fingerprinting of all 150,000 Roma, acid was thrown at a mother and her child earlier this month. In the Czech Republic, human-rights groups demanded action to protect Roma from violence and intimidation after riots this summer. In Slovakia, they are being segregated behind imposing walls, a disturbing echo of dismal recent history.
In France, politicians on right and left have scapegoated Roma amid recent economic woes. One prominent figure ridiculously claimed a community of 15,000 people was responsible for one in 10 crimes in a country of 65 million, while the hardline interior minister's poll ratings rose after calls for them to leave and forced evictions. The hapless president, meanwhile, tied himself in knots over the expulsion of a teenage Roma girl that led his popularity to plunge further.
Remember all this when you see destitute Roma families living in apartheid-like conditions. Half their households lack kitchens or inside toilets while fewer than a third have jobs, illiteracy is rife and life expectancy 10 years lower than among fellow Europeans. These are isolated people more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators; indeed, it has been suggested offences actually fall around well-managed sites.
But who wants facts to intrude on a good scare story – especially when it panders to age-old prejudice against the most abused community on our continent.
It was like a doom-laden fairy tale from the Dark Ages. A sweet little girl, instantly dubbed the blonde angel, stolen by a swarthy Roma couple who looked shifty and shady as people always do in police mugshots. The story tapped into ancient fears of greedy Gypsies stealing innocent children, of good versus evil at its most rudimentary level.
The shock waves rippled across Europe, sowing fear and loathing. In Ireland – a country with a shameful record of hostility towards travelling people – a seven-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy were ripped from their families despite having birth certificates and passports in perfect order. In Serbia, skinheads tried to take a fair-haired Roma child from his parents. In Britain, broadcasters and newspapers reheated scare stories and, with minimal evidence, stoked the fires of living hell for families of missing children such as Madeleine McCann.
For all the wild claims of child theft and trafficking gangs on the rampage, we do not know the full story of that blonde Bulgarian girl found in Greece. It may be a sordid saga of stolen or sold children, or simply the kind of informal adoption common in many communities. Whatever the truth, one single incident no more shows that Roma tend to be child-snatchers than the Stuart Hall case proves football commentators are paedophiles.
It would be nice to think we have moved on from days when the actions of an individual damn an entire community, or from eugenicist ideas that races or communities are predisposed towards certain actions. Sadly, this week showed these corrosive concepts still hold society in their cruel grip – something well understood by other marginalised groups, most notably people with disabilities. Try replacing the word Roma with Jew, or Gypsy with gay, to illustrate the attitudes on display.
If you strip away the myths and moral panic, the reality is far more disturbing. For all the hoary claims there is zero hard evidence of Roma stealing children – yet fears about "dirty Gypsies" have sanctioned the theft of their own children by the state in Britain even within my lifetime. Families were forced into forest compounds, boys put in the army, girls sent into service.
The author Katharine Quarmby tells the story in her recent book No Place To Call Home of one boy taken by officials from his family's tent in Fife and placed in children's homes, where he was sexually abused. His mother spent the rest of her life hunting for him, dying at the age of 41 without seeing her son again. Scottish authorities have never apologised for such disgraceful actions, which continued into the 1960s. Similar enforced family break-ups were seen in Western Europe for at least another decade.
Today there are Roma chefs, clerics and lawyers, yet although it is the size of the Chinese community, this excluded group endures lower life expectancy and higher rates of infant mortality and adult suicide than other Britons. Liberals who howl in outrage over racism happily use hate language such as "pikey" and "gyppo", while police prompt false claims of Faganism and television feeds stereotypes with freak-show programmes. Now we see Roma used to fuel immigration concerns as EU restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians are lifted.
This loathing is the legacy of medieval fears over dark-skinned nomadic outsiders, when laws were passed permitting their branding, enslavement, exile, even execution. In Victorian times, Roma and Gypsies were romanticised by writers even as they were scapegoated and criminalised during economic downturns. Later, they were the forgotten victims of the Nazis, with up to half a million slaughtered; in death camps they were frequently singled out for the most horrific medical experiments.
Never again? Maybe not mass extermination, but Europe's 10 million Roma are still victims of abuse, prejudice and poverty. I was shocked to discover the hatred towards them in Hungary; they are unable to get jobs, segregated, and their children classified as mentally handicapped to keep them out of mainstream schools. The governing party blames them for crime while honouring a leader who deported families to Auschwitz, and vigilante groups terrorise their villages and firebomb their homes. One gang was jailed two months ago for a 14-month murder spree; a child of five was among the dead.
There are similar stories across the Continent, forcing fearful families to the fringes of society.
In Italy, where mobs attacked their camps five years ago and the prime minister responded in the most racist manner by ordering the fingerprinting of all 150,000 Roma, acid was thrown at a mother and her child earlier this month. In the Czech Republic, human-rights groups demanded action to protect Roma from violence and intimidation after riots this summer. In Slovakia, they are being segregated behind imposing walls, a disturbing echo of dismal recent history.
In France, politicians on right and left have scapegoated Roma amid recent economic woes. One prominent figure ridiculously claimed a community of 15,000 people was responsible for one in 10 crimes in a country of 65 million, while the hardline interior minister's poll ratings rose after calls for them to leave and forced evictions. The hapless president, meanwhile, tied himself in knots over the expulsion of a teenage Roma girl that led his popularity to plunge further.
Remember all this when you see destitute Roma families living in apartheid-like conditions. Half their households lack kitchens or inside toilets while fewer than a third have jobs, illiteracy is rife and life expectancy 10 years lower than among fellow Europeans. These are isolated people more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators; indeed, it has been suggested offences actually fall around well-managed sites.
But who wants facts to intrude on a good scare story – especially when it panders to age-old prejudice against the most abused community on our continent.
Media frenzy over Roma child stealing claims unravels as new facts come to light
From the Travellers' Times
The “media frenzy” over accusations of child stealing by Roma families is beginning to unravel as new facts come to light in the Republic of Ireland and Greece amidst claims of state-sponsored child “abduction”.
Traveller campaigners have accused the Irish Government of illegal “abductions” of Roma children and following criteria similar to the eugenic theories of Nazi Germany, after a blond haired Roma girl was returned to her family when DNA tests proved that she was related to her parents. Shortly afterwards, another Irish Roma child was returned to his family in similar circumstances.
The “sensationalist” and “inaccurate” media coverage of in the UK is now being called into question by campaigners as new developments in Greece throw serious doubts on the claims that the Greek ‘Maria’, who is at the centre of the media storm, was abducted. Instead, initial results from the Greek investigation suggest that ‘Maria’ may have been unofficially adopted from a Roma woman by the Roma couple who initially claimed to be her biological parents. In Ireland Pavee Point, the Traveller rights organization that is supporting the Roma family whose child was taken by the Gardai, has called on the Minister for Children to establish an independent review of the actions of the Irish state authorities.
read more...
The “media frenzy” over accusations of child stealing by Roma families is beginning to unravel as new facts come to light in the Republic of Ireland and Greece amidst claims of state-sponsored child “abduction”.
Traveller campaigners have accused the Irish Government of illegal “abductions” of Roma children and following criteria similar to the eugenic theories of Nazi Germany, after a blond haired Roma girl was returned to her family when DNA tests proved that she was related to her parents. Shortly afterwards, another Irish Roma child was returned to his family in similar circumstances.
The “sensationalist” and “inaccurate” media coverage of in the UK is now being called into question by campaigners as new developments in Greece throw serious doubts on the claims that the Greek ‘Maria’, who is at the centre of the media storm, was abducted. Instead, initial results from the Greek investigation suggest that ‘Maria’ may have been unofficially adopted from a Roma woman by the Roma couple who initially claimed to be her biological parents. In Ireland Pavee Point, the Traveller rights organization that is supporting the Roma family whose child was taken by the Gardai, has called on the Minister for Children to establish an independent review of the actions of the Irish state authorities.
read more...
Pavee Point Welcomes Independent Ombudsman Review
From Pavee Point
Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre welcome the Ombudsman for Children’s statement that she will conduct a full inquiry into recent events in which children from Roma families were taken into State Care. We welcome this complete and independent inquiry, which is to include a review of both HSE and Garda procedures.
Pavee Point have consistently maintained that a fully independent inquiry is needed to investigate these matters. The Office of the Ombudsman for Children is the appropriate body to lead this investigation. It is important that we have a transparent and accountable system and these developments are positive in this regard.
This is also important for signalling to the families involved and the wider Roma community that there is a commitment to ensuring cases like these do not occur again.
Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre welcome the Ombudsman for Children’s statement that she will conduct a full inquiry into recent events in which children from Roma families were taken into State Care. We welcome this complete and independent inquiry, which is to include a review of both HSE and Garda procedures.
Pavee Point have consistently maintained that a fully independent inquiry is needed to investigate these matters. The Office of the Ombudsman for Children is the appropriate body to lead this investigation. It is important that we have a transparent and accountable system and these developments are positive in this regard.
This is also important for signalling to the families involved and the wider Roma community that there is a commitment to ensuring cases like these do not occur again.
Saturday, 26 October 2013
Hartlepool councillor apologises over Gypsy ‘blight’ comment - County Durham
From the Hartlepool Mail
A COUNCILLOR has apologised to a Travellers’ organisation which lodged an official complaint after he said Gypsy sites proposed for Hart Village would “blight the whole ward”.
Labour councillor Paul Beck has since apologised and the Traveller Movement has agreed to withdraw the complaint to Hartlepool Borough Council’s audit and governance committee and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.
This week, Coun Beck, who represents the Hart Ward, said he has nothing against Gypsies or Travellers and was merely backing his residents but has since written to apologise.
In a letter, seen by the Mail, Coun Beck said: “First of all I apologise for any offence caused to the Traveller Community. My comments were purely based on concerns raised by my constituents and as ward councillor I was opposed to the decision to place the two sites in Hart Village.
“The term ‘blight’ was not used with malice towards any members of your community. Perhaps when supporting my resident’s concerns I should have said that placing the two sites in a tourist/historical village would have an impact on the whole area.”
The Traveller Movement is a registered charity that aims to raise capacity and social inclusion of the Irish Traveller community in Britain.
Spokesman Mike Doherty said: “It takes a certain amount of integrity and courage to own up to mistakes, intentional or unintentional, so we welcome Coun Becks’ apology.
“We hope that Hartlepool campaigners and politicians involved in any future Traveller site disputes will be careful about the language that they use when arguing their case. “We trust that Hartlepool Council will continue to fulfil its legal duties towards its small resident Gypsy and Irish Traveller population.”
The Traveller Movement had also slammed the council after it agreed to scrap its Local Plan and start again after previously assigning land at Hart to accommodate Gypsies and Travellers and examine if the town needs to provide any sites.
A COUNCILLOR has apologised to a Travellers’ organisation which lodged an official complaint after he said Gypsy sites proposed for Hart Village would “blight the whole ward”.
Labour councillor Paul Beck has since apologised and the Traveller Movement has agreed to withdraw the complaint to Hartlepool Borough Council’s audit and governance committee and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.
This week, Coun Beck, who represents the Hart Ward, said he has nothing against Gypsies or Travellers and was merely backing his residents but has since written to apologise.
In a letter, seen by the Mail, Coun Beck said: “First of all I apologise for any offence caused to the Traveller Community. My comments were purely based on concerns raised by my constituents and as ward councillor I was opposed to the decision to place the two sites in Hart Village.
“The term ‘blight’ was not used with malice towards any members of your community. Perhaps when supporting my resident’s concerns I should have said that placing the two sites in a tourist/historical village would have an impact on the whole area.”
The Traveller Movement is a registered charity that aims to raise capacity and social inclusion of the Irish Traveller community in Britain.
Spokesman Mike Doherty said: “It takes a certain amount of integrity and courage to own up to mistakes, intentional or unintentional, so we welcome Coun Becks’ apology.
“We hope that Hartlepool campaigners and politicians involved in any future Traveller site disputes will be careful about the language that they use when arguing their case. “We trust that Hartlepool Council will continue to fulfil its legal duties towards its small resident Gypsy and Irish Traveller population.”
The Traveller Movement had also slammed the council after it agreed to scrap its Local Plan and start again after previously assigning land at Hart to accommodate Gypsies and Travellers and examine if the town needs to provide any sites.
Eric Pickles: No restriction on Bournemouth and Poole sharing transit Travellers' camp - Dorset
From the Daily Echo
COMMUNITIES Secretary Eric Pickles has confirmed there is no restriction on Bournemouth and Poole sharing a Traveller transit site with neighbouring authorities.
Mr Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, made his comments in Parliament in response to a question from Mid Dorset and North Poole Lib Dem MP Annette Brooke.
Mrs Brooke questioned the secretary following a meeting held by Borough of Poole, last Friday, in which Poole’s Tory MP Robert Syms offered to meet with the Home Office to talk about varying the law on authorities sharing transit sites.
It had been thought government guidelines prohibited authorities from sharing transit sites, which councillors said was hampering progress on moving ahead on the issue.
However, answering Mrs Brookes question this week, Mr Pickles said: “There was some suggestion that there was a prohibition on adjoining local authorities’ sharing facilities.
“Having checked with the planners in my department, I am happy to report there is no restriction.
“We would very much welcome the idea of local authorities working together on this important and sensitive issue.”
Mrs Brooke asked the secretary of state directly about allowing Poole to share a Travellers’ transit site with Bournemouth and Dorset County Council.
She asked what consideration had been given to allowing authorities to share sites, “given the lack of space in the conurbation and the great need for the police to be able to invoke section 62 powers when, for example, play areas become unavailable for use by local children during the school holidays.”
During last week’s Traveller meeting at Poole Civic Centre, Dorset Police Assistant Chief Constable David Lewis explained police had the power to move Travellers off public land more rapidly of there was a specific transit site to direct them to.
After the two-hour session Borough of Poole determined to continue its search for a transit site, and to also give consideration to establishing a ‘temporary stopping place’, which – before Mr Pickles’ comments – seemed to be a solution that could be in place earlier that a transit site.
Bournemouth Borough Council’s stance remains that there is no local demand for a permanent site and no suitable locations for a transit site.
Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood said he welcomed Mr Pickles’ confirmation. “Dorset council does have more brownfield sites available than Bournemouth and Poole so I am glad we now have clear guidance that a shared site would meet out obligations.
“The next step is to sit down and consider where such a site could be located.”
Borough of Poole head of legal & democratic services Tim Martin said: “The law in this area is complex and we are committed to working towards solutions that satisfy legal requirements.
“We note the views of the Secretary of State with interest and will be seeking further clarification on this matter.”
COMMUNITIES Secretary Eric Pickles has confirmed there is no restriction on Bournemouth and Poole sharing a Traveller transit site with neighbouring authorities.
Mr Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, made his comments in Parliament in response to a question from Mid Dorset and North Poole Lib Dem MP Annette Brooke.
Mrs Brooke questioned the secretary following a meeting held by Borough of Poole, last Friday, in which Poole’s Tory MP Robert Syms offered to meet with the Home Office to talk about varying the law on authorities sharing transit sites.
It had been thought government guidelines prohibited authorities from sharing transit sites, which councillors said was hampering progress on moving ahead on the issue.
However, answering Mrs Brookes question this week, Mr Pickles said: “There was some suggestion that there was a prohibition on adjoining local authorities’ sharing facilities.
“Having checked with the planners in my department, I am happy to report there is no restriction.
“We would very much welcome the idea of local authorities working together on this important and sensitive issue.”
Mrs Brooke asked the secretary of state directly about allowing Poole to share a Travellers’ transit site with Bournemouth and Dorset County Council.
She asked what consideration had been given to allowing authorities to share sites, “given the lack of space in the conurbation and the great need for the police to be able to invoke section 62 powers when, for example, play areas become unavailable for use by local children during the school holidays.”
During last week’s Traveller meeting at Poole Civic Centre, Dorset Police Assistant Chief Constable David Lewis explained police had the power to move Travellers off public land more rapidly of there was a specific transit site to direct them to.
After the two-hour session Borough of Poole determined to continue its search for a transit site, and to also give consideration to establishing a ‘temporary stopping place’, which – before Mr Pickles’ comments – seemed to be a solution that could be in place earlier that a transit site.
Bournemouth Borough Council’s stance remains that there is no local demand for a permanent site and no suitable locations for a transit site.
Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood said he welcomed Mr Pickles’ confirmation. “Dorset council does have more brownfield sites available than Bournemouth and Poole so I am glad we now have clear guidance that a shared site would meet out obligations.
“The next step is to sit down and consider where such a site could be located.”
Borough of Poole head of legal & democratic services Tim Martin said: “The law in this area is complex and we are committed to working towards solutions that satisfy legal requirements.
“We note the views of the Secretary of State with interest and will be seeking further clarification on this matter.”
Friday, 25 October 2013
Council leader calls for patience over shared Travellers site plan - Dorset
From the Daily Echo
COUNCIL leader John Beesley has appealed for patience over hopes that Bournemouth and Poole could share a transit Traveller’s camp.
The two councils are both yet to find anywhere to place a Travellers site that would then empower police to use tougher and quicker section 62a powers to move them on when they arrive in parks and public spaces.
Police commissioner Martyn Underhill has stated that cabinet minister Eric Pickles informed him Bournemouth and Poole could share a site instead of having one each.
Cllr John Beesley, Bournemouth council leader, welcomed the idea at a council steering group meeting but wants to wait until it is made official.
He said: “I would have thought this would require a change in legislation from the Government.
“When the secretary of state says ‘get on with it’, that is parallel with what the two MPs have been told.
“But I think we need to wait until we have it in writing that that’s the case from the department for communities and local government.
“Then if we get to that stage it will be extremely welcome.”
Mark Axford, principal planning policy officer, told the meeting there is no need for a permanent Travellers site as the “large population of gypsy Travellers” in Bournemouth is living in houses.
Cllr Ron Whittaker said he believes there should only be a need for a Travellers camp within the boundaries of each police authority.
At a meeting at Poole council last week members welcomed MP Roberts Syms’s offer to meet with the home office to consider varying the law on councils sharing transit sites.
COUNCIL leader John Beesley has appealed for patience over hopes that Bournemouth and Poole could share a transit Traveller’s camp.
The two councils are both yet to find anywhere to place a Travellers site that would then empower police to use tougher and quicker section 62a powers to move them on when they arrive in parks and public spaces.
Police commissioner Martyn Underhill has stated that cabinet minister Eric Pickles informed him Bournemouth and Poole could share a site instead of having one each.
Cllr John Beesley, Bournemouth council leader, welcomed the idea at a council steering group meeting but wants to wait until it is made official.
He said: “I would have thought this would require a change in legislation from the Government.
“When the secretary of state says ‘get on with it’, that is parallel with what the two MPs have been told.
“But I think we need to wait until we have it in writing that that’s the case from the department for communities and local government.
“Then if we get to that stage it will be extremely welcome.”
Mark Axford, principal planning policy officer, told the meeting there is no need for a permanent Travellers site as the “large population of gypsy Travellers” in Bournemouth is living in houses.
Cllr Ron Whittaker said he believes there should only be a need for a Travellers camp within the boundaries of each police authority.
At a meeting at Poole council last week members welcomed MP Roberts Syms’s offer to meet with the home office to consider varying the law on councils sharing transit sites.
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