From the Bristol Post
TWO new camps for Travellers could be created on areas of wasteland in Weston-super-Mare.
North Somerset Council has earmarked land at Old Junction Yard, just off Winterstoke Road, for 20 managed residential pitches.
As well as the permanent pitches, the council is also investigating the opportunity for a small number of short stay pitches at the same site.
The authority has also earmarked a second piece of land west of Winterstoke Road – currently allocated for a mixed used development – for a further Gypsy and Traveller site, containing 12 pitches.
North Somerset Council has to provide up to 60 new pitches in the district by 2016, to cope with the growing number of Travellers in the area.
The authority recognised in its Core Strategy, a blueprint for the future adopted in April, the need to provide pitches for the travelling community and had been looking at the possibility of using land within the new Weston Villages development. But it has now opted for the two sites at Winterstoke Road.
North Somerset Council deputy leader and executive member for housing, Elfan Ap Rees, said the council had a duty to identify pitches for Travellers.
He said the authority would consult with local residents and businesses ahead of any planning application being made and that any selected sites would be relatively small and properly managed.
Mr Ap Rees said: "In North Somerset there are approximately 60 residential pitches for Gypsies and Travellers on sites that are long established and have become integrated in the local community.
"As children on these sites grow up there is a need for additional pitches to avoid the risk of unplanned sites being set up unofficially.
"In addition we need a small number of managed transit pitches for the same reason.
"A survey we've carried out has shown that the initial need for additional pitches is in the Weston-super-Mare area as this is where most members of the current gypsy and traveller community want to live.
"The site choices are also near to schools and other facilities that families need."
Mr Ap Rees added the council is continuing a review of potential sites to include land within the new urban village areas at Locking Parklands – the former RAF Locking site – and on the former Weston Airfield as well as exploring the potential to build on other sites in the district.
Mr Ap Rees added: "The aim is to establish sites where there is minimal likelihood of conflict and where landscaping can be used to green the immediate area.
"This is a successful method for integrating the alternative lifestyles which we have seen at the existing site at Locking Castle and which we believe can work elsewhere subject to proper management."
Currently there are residential pitches in six locations across the district, including the Willowmead at Locking Castle, with five pitches.
There is also the privately owned camp, Moorland Park at Hewish, which is owned by local businessman Peter Penfold and has 33 pitches.
There are also other pitches at Box Bush Lane and Travellers Rest, Puxton, and at Clevedon Road, Failand.
Other areas in the northern sector of North Somerset have also been considered but mainly ruled out due to green belt or flooding constraints.
The latest plan, if approved by the executive, will go out to consultation in February and March next year, with the responses being assessed in the summer.
A revised document will then be presented to the council in the autumn.
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Gypsy dad seeks Takeley site for daughters' families - Essex
From the Herts and Essex Observer
A SPELLBROOK Gypsy wants to build a permanent camp for his two daughters and their families in Takeley.
Residents of Bullocks Lane, on the Canfield border, fear Brian Humphreys’ bid to build hardstandings so the Hope End Green site can accommodate two static caravans and two trailer caravans would be the thin end of the wedge.
A spokeswoman for the householders said: “We … are being faced with the proposition of a travellers site in our quiet and unspoilt area of Essex.
“If granted, this would the third site to gain permission in the last couple of months. It is a site which was formally part of a larger nursery area and has, for the last 30 years been refused planning permission.”
She said: “We are extremely concerned about this proposal for a number of reasons.
“Firstly, this parcel of land is part of a much larger area of land which constitute the former nursery which is at this time derelict, which could mean that if this permission were granted, would become extremely valuable to no one else but travellers.
“Secondly we believe that this application is very likely to be a Trojan horse, its true nature being to construct houses for the developer in the near future.”
The residents also feared Uttlesford would rubber stamp the scheme because it has not yet identified enough other sites for Gy psies.
They have asked their district councillor, Jackie Cheetham, to step down as chairman of the planning committee which will determine the bid, so she can fight their corner.
Mr Humphreys’ agent, Stephen Hayhurst, a Braintree-based town planner, has told the council that the applicant’s daughters – Gentilia Marie Brant and Louie Jade Laird - were both former pupils of Takeley primary school.
“The applicant and his wife lived in Takeley and Little Canfield for 20 years and when the children were small travelled in the summer, mainly to the West Country.”
According to the report, Gentilia, now 23, and husband Joe, who is a door to door salesman, are currently living on a site with his parents in Kent along with their six-month-old daughter Isabelle Rose.
Louie, who is 21, is married to door to door carpet vendor James. They have a son, James Joseph, who was born in February this year and are, according to Mr Hayhurst, about to move to a site in East Herts for the winter.
To justify the scheme, he said Uttlesford needed around 24 permanent pitches and seven short stay pitches, plus two additional plots for travelling show people by 2021, but has so far approved five permanent and 13 temporary since 2008.
He said: “The intended occupiers of the site are relatively young people from a travelling background who wish to have a more settled existence so that their children can get a better education than they did and better access to health and community facilities.
“They have a long association with this area and it is understandable that they should wish their children to grow up in this locality.”
Uttlesford must determine the application by January 15.
A SPELLBROOK Gypsy wants to build a permanent camp for his two daughters and their families in Takeley.
Residents of Bullocks Lane, on the Canfield border, fear Brian Humphreys’ bid to build hardstandings so the Hope End Green site can accommodate two static caravans and two trailer caravans would be the thin end of the wedge.
A spokeswoman for the householders said: “We … are being faced with the proposition of a travellers site in our quiet and unspoilt area of Essex.
“If granted, this would the third site to gain permission in the last couple of months. It is a site which was formally part of a larger nursery area and has, for the last 30 years been refused planning permission.”
She said: “We are extremely concerned about this proposal for a number of reasons.
“Firstly, this parcel of land is part of a much larger area of land which constitute the former nursery which is at this time derelict, which could mean that if this permission were granted, would become extremely valuable to no one else but travellers.
“Secondly we believe that this application is very likely to be a Trojan horse, its true nature being to construct houses for the developer in the near future.”
The residents also feared Uttlesford would rubber stamp the scheme because it has not yet identified enough other sites for Gy psies.
They have asked their district councillor, Jackie Cheetham, to step down as chairman of the planning committee which will determine the bid, so she can fight their corner.
Mr Humphreys’ agent, Stephen Hayhurst, a Braintree-based town planner, has told the council that the applicant’s daughters – Gentilia Marie Brant and Louie Jade Laird - were both former pupils of Takeley primary school.
“The applicant and his wife lived in Takeley and Little Canfield for 20 years and when the children were small travelled in the summer, mainly to the West Country.”
According to the report, Gentilia, now 23, and husband Joe, who is a door to door salesman, are currently living on a site with his parents in Kent along with their six-month-old daughter Isabelle Rose.
Louie, who is 21, is married to door to door carpet vendor James. They have a son, James Joseph, who was born in February this year and are, according to Mr Hayhurst, about to move to a site in East Herts for the winter.
To justify the scheme, he said Uttlesford needed around 24 permanent pitches and seven short stay pitches, plus two additional plots for travelling show people by 2021, but has so far approved five permanent and 13 temporary since 2008.
He said: “The intended occupiers of the site are relatively young people from a travelling background who wish to have a more settled existence so that their children can get a better education than they did and better access to health and community facilities.
“They have a long association with this area and it is understandable that they should wish their children to grow up in this locality.”
Uttlesford must determine the application by January 15.
Appeal over Gypsy site - Wiltshire
From the Salisbury Journal
A ROW over a Gypsy site is still no closer to being resolved after almost two years of protests from neighbours over a planning application.
Residents in Alderbury and Clarendon have been fighting plans to turn land at Hillbilly Acre, Southampton Road into a four-pitch Gypsy site with eight mobile homes since April last year.
A retrospective planning application has already been turned down by Wiltshire Council and a planning inspector then ruled the development should not be allowed, but David Cooper and his family are now appealing against an enforcement notice issued by Wiltshire Council.
Inspector Richard Clegg ruled in July, following a lengthy planning inquiry, that the site would damage the character and appearance of the area and pose a serious threat to highway safety due to access problems.
Wiltshire Council’s officers then sought legal advice before serving an enforcement notice in October, but the appeal means another hearing will be held, probably not until the spring.
Mr Cooper is appealing against accusations of using land designated for agricultural use for residential purposes and for storage, and of constructing areas of hard surfacing and timber decking.
He is also alleged to have built a fence and numerous sheds and greenhouses on the land.
But he argues that the development should be allowed, the enforcement action is too late, that the requirements of the enforcement notice are excessive and the time given to comply is not long enough.
A ROW over a Gypsy site is still no closer to being resolved after almost two years of protests from neighbours over a planning application.
Residents in Alderbury and Clarendon have been fighting plans to turn land at Hillbilly Acre, Southampton Road into a four-pitch Gypsy site with eight mobile homes since April last year.
A retrospective planning application has already been turned down by Wiltshire Council and a planning inspector then ruled the development should not be allowed, but David Cooper and his family are now appealing against an enforcement notice issued by Wiltshire Council.
Inspector Richard Clegg ruled in July, following a lengthy planning inquiry, that the site would damage the character and appearance of the area and pose a serious threat to highway safety due to access problems.
Wiltshire Council’s officers then sought legal advice before serving an enforcement notice in October, but the appeal means another hearing will be held, probably not until the spring.
Mr Cooper is appealing against accusations of using land designated for agricultural use for residential purposes and for storage, and of constructing areas of hard surfacing and timber decking.
He is also alleged to have built a fence and numerous sheds and greenhouses on the land.
But he argues that the development should be allowed, the enforcement action is too late, that the requirements of the enforcement notice are excessive and the time given to comply is not long enough.
Travellers celebrate “step in the right direction” as Basildon Borough Council approve planning application for a 15 pitch Traveller site
From the Travellers' Solidarity Network
Last night Basildon Borough Council’s planning committee has finally passed a planning application for 15 pitches to accommodate some of the most vulnerable homeless Gypsy and Traveller families in Basildon. This is the first site approved by the Council since official planning needs assessments in 2006 stated the need for between 157 and 163 pitches for Gypsy and Traveller families in Basildon by 2011.[1] The council had previously rejected several similar applications, but years of campaigning and direct action appears to have finally paid off. Although 15 pitches will not accommodate all those left homeless by the Dale Farm eviction, families whooped for joy on hearing the news.
The application, made by the Irish Traveller Movement in Britain (ITMB), working in partnership with Home Space Sustainable Accommodation (HSSA), aims to deliver a model Traveller site using vacant Homes and Communities Agency land at Gardiners Way in Basildon, Essex. ITMB anticipates working with Basildon Council to access substantial Homes and Communities Agency funds to pay for the development of the new site now that it has been approved by Basildon Council.
Concerns have been raised about the desperate conditions the families made homeless by last year’s eviction are living in. Since October 2011, the 83 Traveller families evicted from Dale Farm have been living in squalid conditions in caravans parked on Oak Lane adjacent to the cleared Dale Farm site, without adequate sanitation, heating, or electricity supplies. [2] Although 15 pitches will accommodate only a very small number of the remaining homeless Dale Farm families, they whooped for joy on hearing the news. Basildon Council is expected to delay plans to evict the families currently living near Dale Farm site, until those most vulnerable can move into the new site.
Mary Sheridan, a mother of four encamped on Oak Lane since last year’s eviction, said “Even though this doesn’t solve the problem for most of us, this is something good for the community – it’s a bit of hope – it will help the old people and the sick people here – it’s good news”.
Dale Farm Traveller Kathleen McCarthy, who campaigned tirelessly for a peaceful settlement to avoid the Council’s costly eviction action last year, said “This is a step in the right direction and it shows there is an alternative to evictions – this is what we always asked for. If only they could have approved a few sites like this last year, then there would have been no need to put us out of our homes and onto the roadside. This is good news, but it’s just 15 pitches, that still leaves a lot of homeless Travellers in Basildon.”
Nora Sheridan, a resident of Dale Farm spoke in support of the planning application, noting that the site would allow her children to continue their education at the local school. Not everyone was happy — Len Gridley, who has campaigned against the Dale Farm Travellers for many years spoke in opposition, saying that while sites should be made available for English Travellers, “sites should not be made available to the Irish”. He said that they should go back to Ireland.
Yvonne MacNamara, CEO of the Irish Traveller Movement in Britain, who made the application, said[3]: “Basildon Council’s planning committee has rightly recognised that the planned site will help address the dire need for more Gypsy and Traveller pitches both in Basildon and within Essex County Council as a whole.”
Michael Hargreaves, the Irish Traveller Movement in Britain Planning and Policy Officer, said[3]: “This was the right decision. It’s an attractive, well designed scheme and an ideal site. It is on vacant, previously developed land, not in the green belt, and near local services, including the Crays Hill School that many Traveller children attend, and also to the authorized Oak Lane site. We look forward to Basildon Council supporting our bid to the Homes and Communities Agency for the funds to build it.”
Maria Stoppart, of the Traveller Solidarity Network said: “Basildon Council has made a small step towards meeting the needs of local Travellers by approving plans for culturally suitable accommodation rather than wasting more taxpayers money on forced evictions. The families parked alongside Dale Farm are seeking reassurance that the Council will suspend the planned eviction of the roadside while the new site is being developed.”
Notes:
[1] The first Gypsy and Traveller accommodation needs assessment for Essex was produced by Salford University in 2006 – assessing the total need for sites to be generated by 2011. This suggested a need for 249 more pitches by 2011 across the whole of Essex. A Gypsy Traveller Accommodation Assessment benchmarking exercise was later conducted (commissioned by the East of England Regional Spatial Strategies Board) by a team led by Pat Niner of Birmingham University and concluded that the initial Essex GTAA was a significant underestimate of requirements. Pat Niner suggested a need for 483 more pitches across Essex, including the need for 157 pitches in Basildon. The Essex authorities commissioned a further study from Fordham Research explicitly to test the Niner report findings. This suggested a need for 301 pitches (not broken down into boroughs – but still exceeding the original 249 suggested by the Salford Univesity team). A later Independent Panel report again tested the regional targets and suggested a county need for 389 additional pitches by 2011, including 163 in Basildon (plus a further 95 2011- 2021). Please contact Michael Hargreaves, Irish Traveller Movement in Britain, on: 0207 607 2002 / 07961 432 074 Email: michael@irishtraveller.org.uk
[2] Report by members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Gypsies Roma and Travellers ‘Visit to Dale Farm Travellers site: A year on from the eviction”
http://irishtraveller.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Dale-Farm-visit-report-September-2012-2.pdf
Related press articles:
Guardian, 20th Oct, 2012
Mental illness now blights many Dale Farm families:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/oct/20/dale-farm-families-in-squalor
Daily Mail, 21st Oct, 2012
Travellers evicted from notorious Dale Farm site ‘are suffering from mental illness as a result of stress’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2221006/Travellers-evicted-notorious-Dale-Farm-site-suffering-mental-illness-result-stress.html
[3] ITMB Press release, Dec 11th, 2012
Last night Basildon Borough Council’s planning committee has finally passed a planning application for 15 pitches to accommodate some of the most vulnerable homeless Gypsy and Traveller families in Basildon. This is the first site approved by the Council since official planning needs assessments in 2006 stated the need for between 157 and 163 pitches for Gypsy and Traveller families in Basildon by 2011.[1] The council had previously rejected several similar applications, but years of campaigning and direct action appears to have finally paid off. Although 15 pitches will not accommodate all those left homeless by the Dale Farm eviction, families whooped for joy on hearing the news.
The application, made by the Irish Traveller Movement in Britain (ITMB), working in partnership with Home Space Sustainable Accommodation (HSSA), aims to deliver a model Traveller site using vacant Homes and Communities Agency land at Gardiners Way in Basildon, Essex. ITMB anticipates working with Basildon Council to access substantial Homes and Communities Agency funds to pay for the development of the new site now that it has been approved by Basildon Council.
Concerns have been raised about the desperate conditions the families made homeless by last year’s eviction are living in. Since October 2011, the 83 Traveller families evicted from Dale Farm have been living in squalid conditions in caravans parked on Oak Lane adjacent to the cleared Dale Farm site, without adequate sanitation, heating, or electricity supplies. [2] Although 15 pitches will accommodate only a very small number of the remaining homeless Dale Farm families, they whooped for joy on hearing the news. Basildon Council is expected to delay plans to evict the families currently living near Dale Farm site, until those most vulnerable can move into the new site.
Mary Sheridan, a mother of four encamped on Oak Lane since last year’s eviction, said “Even though this doesn’t solve the problem for most of us, this is something good for the community – it’s a bit of hope – it will help the old people and the sick people here – it’s good news”.
Dale Farm Traveller Kathleen McCarthy, who campaigned tirelessly for a peaceful settlement to avoid the Council’s costly eviction action last year, said “This is a step in the right direction and it shows there is an alternative to evictions – this is what we always asked for. If only they could have approved a few sites like this last year, then there would have been no need to put us out of our homes and onto the roadside. This is good news, but it’s just 15 pitches, that still leaves a lot of homeless Travellers in Basildon.”
Nora Sheridan, a resident of Dale Farm spoke in support of the planning application, noting that the site would allow her children to continue their education at the local school. Not everyone was happy — Len Gridley, who has campaigned against the Dale Farm Travellers for many years spoke in opposition, saying that while sites should be made available for English Travellers, “sites should not be made available to the Irish”. He said that they should go back to Ireland.
Yvonne MacNamara, CEO of the Irish Traveller Movement in Britain, who made the application, said[3]: “Basildon Council’s planning committee has rightly recognised that the planned site will help address the dire need for more Gypsy and Traveller pitches both in Basildon and within Essex County Council as a whole.”
Michael Hargreaves, the Irish Traveller Movement in Britain Planning and Policy Officer, said[3]: “This was the right decision. It’s an attractive, well designed scheme and an ideal site. It is on vacant, previously developed land, not in the green belt, and near local services, including the Crays Hill School that many Traveller children attend, and also to the authorized Oak Lane site. We look forward to Basildon Council supporting our bid to the Homes and Communities Agency for the funds to build it.”
Maria Stoppart, of the Traveller Solidarity Network said: “Basildon Council has made a small step towards meeting the needs of local Travellers by approving plans for culturally suitable accommodation rather than wasting more taxpayers money on forced evictions. The families parked alongside Dale Farm are seeking reassurance that the Council will suspend the planned eviction of the roadside while the new site is being developed.”
Notes:
[1] The first Gypsy and Traveller accommodation needs assessment for Essex was produced by Salford University in 2006 – assessing the total need for sites to be generated by 2011. This suggested a need for 249 more pitches by 2011 across the whole of Essex. A Gypsy Traveller Accommodation Assessment benchmarking exercise was later conducted (commissioned by the East of England Regional Spatial Strategies Board) by a team led by Pat Niner of Birmingham University and concluded that the initial Essex GTAA was a significant underestimate of requirements. Pat Niner suggested a need for 483 more pitches across Essex, including the need for 157 pitches in Basildon. The Essex authorities commissioned a further study from Fordham Research explicitly to test the Niner report findings. This suggested a need for 301 pitches (not broken down into boroughs – but still exceeding the original 249 suggested by the Salford Univesity team). A later Independent Panel report again tested the regional targets and suggested a county need for 389 additional pitches by 2011, including 163 in Basildon (plus a further 95 2011- 2021). Please contact Michael Hargreaves, Irish Traveller Movement in Britain, on: 0207 607 2002 / 07961 432 074 Email: michael@irishtraveller.org.uk
[2] Report by members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Gypsies Roma and Travellers ‘Visit to Dale Farm Travellers site: A year on from the eviction”
http://irishtraveller.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Dale-Farm-visit-report-September-2012-2.pdf
Related press articles:
Guardian, 20th Oct, 2012
Mental illness now blights many Dale Farm families:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/oct/20/dale-farm-families-in-squalor
Daily Mail, 21st Oct, 2012
Travellers evicted from notorious Dale Farm site ‘are suffering from mental illness as a result of stress’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2221006/Travellers-evicted-notorious-Dale-Farm-site-suffering-mental-illness-result-stress.html
[3] ITMB Press release, Dec 11th, 2012
Germany and Britain about to destroy Gypsy scrap metal businesses
From greenreview.blogspot.com
To all intents and purposes, so it would appear, it will soon be illegal to go calling for scrap metal at homes and businesses and this will mean the end of many, if not indeed all, Sinti, Roma and Yenish scrappers.
They will, so rumors have it, have their businesses seized and will be forced to give up that kind of activity. This will also mean that they and their families will become dependent on state handouts or be forced to take up employment in the labor market where it will be hardly possible for any of them, many of who are illiterate, to find work.
The scrappers, once called rag and bone men in England, calling at homes and businesses for scrap metal and “recyclables” were the very people who kept the country clean and kept those things out of the landfills.
A new measure is also being introduced in Britain that also could spell the end of the rag and bone man in that country. This is an amendment, it would appear, to the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 and reads about as follows:
The requirement to purchase scrap metal without cash will apply to all scrap metal dealers as defined by the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964
The only exemption from this measure is for some itinerant collectors; itinerant collectors are defined in section 9 of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964. For an exemption, collectors must both:
• be registered with their local authority under section 1 of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964; and
• have obtained a separate order under section 3(1) of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 which exempts them from certain record keeping requirements. Local authorities must consult with the Chief Officer of the local police force prior to issuing every order.
Should an itinerant collector not fulfill either of these requirements they will not be exempted and cannot purchase scrap metal for cash.
In other words, any Gypsy rag and bone man going door to door calling for scrap can no longer do so unless he is registered and if that registration is similar to the one for the Hawker's License then many will have to give up their trade.
That means that the state will have to foot the bill or they will be forced into criminal activities to feed themselves and their families.
It would appear that this law in the UK and in Germany are based on the wish of the state to get more deeply involved in making money from the collection of scrap metal and other recyclables.
Obviously, how could the government pass up such a lucrative trade...
To all intents and purposes, so it would appear, it will soon be illegal to go calling for scrap metal at homes and businesses and this will mean the end of many, if not indeed all, Sinti, Roma and Yenish scrappers.
They will, so rumors have it, have their businesses seized and will be forced to give up that kind of activity. This will also mean that they and their families will become dependent on state handouts or be forced to take up employment in the labor market where it will be hardly possible for any of them, many of who are illiterate, to find work.
The scrappers, once called rag and bone men in England, calling at homes and businesses for scrap metal and “recyclables” were the very people who kept the country clean and kept those things out of the landfills.
A new measure is also being introduced in Britain that also could spell the end of the rag and bone man in that country. This is an amendment, it would appear, to the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 and reads about as follows:
The requirement to purchase scrap metal without cash will apply to all scrap metal dealers as defined by the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964
The only exemption from this measure is for some itinerant collectors; itinerant collectors are defined in section 9 of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964. For an exemption, collectors must both:
• be registered with their local authority under section 1 of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964; and
• have obtained a separate order under section 3(1) of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 which exempts them from certain record keeping requirements. Local authorities must consult with the Chief Officer of the local police force prior to issuing every order.
Should an itinerant collector not fulfill either of these requirements they will not be exempted and cannot purchase scrap metal for cash.
In other words, any Gypsy rag and bone man going door to door calling for scrap can no longer do so unless he is registered and if that registration is similar to the one for the Hawker's License then many will have to give up their trade.
That means that the state will have to foot the bill or they will be forced into criminal activities to feed themselves and their families.
It would appear that this law in the UK and in Germany are based on the wish of the state to get more deeply involved in making money from the collection of scrap metal and other recyclables.
Obviously, how could the government pass up such a lucrative trade...
Basildon: New Traveller Site Approved - Essex
From Heart.co.uk
Traveller families cleared from Dale Farm in Basildon are to get a new site in the town was approved.
15 pitches will be built on land off Gardiners Way and Gardiners Lane South - enough for 15 families, spread over 30 caravans, as well as utility blocks, day rooms, a community garden and building, and a children's play area.
Around 400 people were cleared from Dale Farm in October 2011, signalling the end of a 10 year battle between the Travellers and Basildon Borough Council. At the time the area was the largest illegal travellers site in Europe and the operation to clear it cost more than £7 million.
Some of the families moved on are now living illegally on Oak Lane, a road that leads up the Dale Farm site.
The application for the 15 pitch site was submitted by the Irish Traveller Movement in Britain, who are paying for the development. Yvonne MacNamara from the organisation says it was vital for those families that the application was approved: "Some of these families are living in dire conditions.
"They have no proper sanitation, no running water, children living in awful conditions. This was the right decision."
There have been some concerns about the proposals from people living near the site. In particular, issues were raised about the economic impact it would have on the area with some people worried it would make it difficult to attract new businesses, while others feel enough accomodation for travellers is already provided in the borough.
The Council says: "The Traveller community will be impacted upon should the Council refuse planning permission for this development. It is recognised that Gypsies and Travellers are an ethnic group and therefore are protected under the Equality Act 2010".
Some residents also expressed concerns that illegal Traveller sites may appear next to the legal ones, but Ms MacNamara insists this will not happen: "Our partner is an organisation called Home Space Sustainable Accomodation.
"They will be managing the site and just like any other proper management facility, it will be managed appropriately.
"When they [local residents] see there is well managed site next door to them that anymosity will go.
"We fear what we don't know and many of these local residents don't know who they're gypsy and traveller community are, once they start to know who the community are that anymosity will go."
Development of the area will now go forward and it is anticipated the first families will move onto the site within the next 18 to 24 months.
see also: The BBC - Dale Farm eviction: New Travellers' site in Essex backed
Howe and Co Solicitors - Basildon Council pass Irish Traveller Movement in Britain’s planning application for an innovative new Gypsy and Traveller site.
24dash - Green light given for new Gypsy and Traveller site in Essex
Traveller families cleared from Dale Farm in Basildon are to get a new site in the town was approved.
15 pitches will be built on land off Gardiners Way and Gardiners Lane South - enough for 15 families, spread over 30 caravans, as well as utility blocks, day rooms, a community garden and building, and a children's play area.
Around 400 people were cleared from Dale Farm in October 2011, signalling the end of a 10 year battle between the Travellers and Basildon Borough Council. At the time the area was the largest illegal travellers site in Europe and the operation to clear it cost more than £7 million.
Some of the families moved on are now living illegally on Oak Lane, a road that leads up the Dale Farm site.
The application for the 15 pitch site was submitted by the Irish Traveller Movement in Britain, who are paying for the development. Yvonne MacNamara from the organisation says it was vital for those families that the application was approved: "Some of these families are living in dire conditions.
"They have no proper sanitation, no running water, children living in awful conditions. This was the right decision."
There have been some concerns about the proposals from people living near the site. In particular, issues were raised about the economic impact it would have on the area with some people worried it would make it difficult to attract new businesses, while others feel enough accomodation for travellers is already provided in the borough.
The Council says: "The Traveller community will be impacted upon should the Council refuse planning permission for this development. It is recognised that Gypsies and Travellers are an ethnic group and therefore are protected under the Equality Act 2010".
Some residents also expressed concerns that illegal Traveller sites may appear next to the legal ones, but Ms MacNamara insists this will not happen: "Our partner is an organisation called Home Space Sustainable Accomodation.
"They will be managing the site and just like any other proper management facility, it will be managed appropriately.
"When they [local residents] see there is well managed site next door to them that anymosity will go.
"We fear what we don't know and many of these local residents don't know who they're gypsy and traveller community are, once they start to know who the community are that anymosity will go."
Development of the area will now go forward and it is anticipated the first families will move onto the site within the next 18 to 24 months.
see also: The BBC - Dale Farm eviction: New Travellers' site in Essex backed
Howe and Co Solicitors - Basildon Council pass Irish Traveller Movement in Britain’s planning application for an innovative new Gypsy and Traveller site.
24dash - Green light given for new Gypsy and Traveller site in Essex
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Boy killed by car at caravan site - Glamorgan
From Wales Online
A seven-year-old boy has died after being hit by a car allegedly driven by a teenager at a caravan site, police said.
A 16-year-old boy is being questioned by police after being arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
The accident happened at the Shirenewton caravan site, east of Cardiff, south Wales, at around 3pm on Saturday.
"A seven-year-old boy from the caravan site was apparently in collision with a red BMW 3 series estate," a South Wales Police spokesman said.
"The boy was taken to the University Hospital of Wales where he later died from his injuries. Specially trained police officers are supporting the family.
"A 16-year-old youth from the area, who is believed to have been driving the BMW at the time, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and is in custody and inquiries are ongoing."
He added: "Anybody who witnessed the incident or who has any information is asked to contact the police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."
Read more: Wales Online http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/2012/12/09/boy-killed-by-car-at-caravan-site-91466-32390468/#ixzz2ElEZQXpO
A seven-year-old boy has died after being hit by a car allegedly driven by a teenager at a caravan site, police said.
A 16-year-old boy is being questioned by police after being arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
The accident happened at the Shirenewton caravan site, east of Cardiff, south Wales, at around 3pm on Saturday.
"A seven-year-old boy from the caravan site was apparently in collision with a red BMW 3 series estate," a South Wales Police spokesman said.
"The boy was taken to the University Hospital of Wales where he later died from his injuries. Specially trained police officers are supporting the family.
"A 16-year-old youth from the area, who is believed to have been driving the BMW at the time, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and is in custody and inquiries are ongoing."
He added: "Anybody who witnessed the incident or who has any information is asked to contact the police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."
Read more: Wales Online http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/2012/12/09/boy-killed-by-car-at-caravan-site-91466-32390468/#ixzz2ElEZQXpO
Basildon: Traveller Site To Be Approved - Essex
From Heart.co.uk
Plans for a Travellers site in Basildon, which would be home to some of the families moved off Dale Farm, is set to be approved later.
The proposals for land off Gardiners Way and Gardiners Lane South in the town would see 15 pitches built - enough space for 30 caravans, a utility block, day rooms, a community garden and building, and children's play area.
The application, which has been submitted by the Irish Traveller Movement of Britain, is being discussed by councillors at a Development Control meeting and it is recommended for approval.
Around 400 people were cleared from Dale Farm in October, which saw the end of a 10 year-long battle between the Travellers and Basildon Borough Council.
At the time the area was the largest illegal Travellers site in Europe and the operation to clear it cost more than £7 million. Some of the families moved on are now living illegally on Oak Lane, a road that leads up the Dale Farm site.
The new site is just a few miles away from Dale Farm, but smaller meaning not all the families cleared would move there.
The land has been vacant for several years, despite being one of those within the borough earmarked for development. In 2006, a planning application was submitted for nearly 200,000 square feet of business space and new homes.
Although it was accepted, nothing further happened.
There have been some concerns about the proposals from people living near the site. In particular, issues were raised about the economic impact it would have on the area with some people worried it would make it difficult to attract new businesses, while others feel enough accommodation for travellers is already provided in the borough.
The Council says: "The Travellers community will be impacted upon should the Council refuse planning permission for this development. It is recognised that Gypsies and Travellers are an ethnic group and therefore are protected under the Equality Act 2010".
Plans for a Travellers site in Basildon, which would be home to some of the families moved off Dale Farm, is set to be approved later.
The proposals for land off Gardiners Way and Gardiners Lane South in the town would see 15 pitches built - enough space for 30 caravans, a utility block, day rooms, a community garden and building, and children's play area.
The application, which has been submitted by the Irish Traveller Movement of Britain, is being discussed by councillors at a Development Control meeting and it is recommended for approval.
Around 400 people were cleared from Dale Farm in October, which saw the end of a 10 year-long battle between the Travellers and Basildon Borough Council.
At the time the area was the largest illegal Travellers site in Europe and the operation to clear it cost more than £7 million. Some of the families moved on are now living illegally on Oak Lane, a road that leads up the Dale Farm site.
The new site is just a few miles away from Dale Farm, but smaller meaning not all the families cleared would move there.
The land has been vacant for several years, despite being one of those within the borough earmarked for development. In 2006, a planning application was submitted for nearly 200,000 square feet of business space and new homes.
Although it was accepted, nothing further happened.
There have been some concerns about the proposals from people living near the site. In particular, issues were raised about the economic impact it would have on the area with some people worried it would make it difficult to attract new businesses, while others feel enough accommodation for travellers is already provided in the borough.
The Council says: "The Travellers community will be impacted upon should the Council refuse planning permission for this development. It is recognised that Gypsies and Travellers are an ethnic group and therefore are protected under the Equality Act 2010".
Monday, 10 December 2012
MP welcomes scrapping of Traveller site - Cambridgeshire
From Cambridge News
A council's decision to abandon its plans to reopen an infamous Travellers’ site has been welcomed by South Cambridgeshire MP Andrew Lansley.
South Cambridgeshire District Council’s plan to buy Mettle Hill in Meldreth was thrown into disarray when the parish council put in a rival bid for the land.
The district council pulled out of the deal saying it would have been a “terrible” use of public money if the two councils entered a bidding war.
Mr Lansley, who is also Leader of the House of Commons, welcomed the decision. He said: “I believe that Meldreth Parish Council is best placed to decide on a future for the Mettle Hill site.
“For a decade now, I have been asking Cambridgeshire County Council to consider a sale of the land to the parish council, so I am pleased that this will now go ahead.
“I will also work together with the district council to strengthen their ability to make decisions about the local need for travellers’ sites, without these decisions being continually second-guessed by the Planning Inspectorate.”
Steve Hawkins, chairman of Meldreth Parish Council, said they were anxious “not to spoil” the travelling community of Showmen and Romany Gypsies, which is just a few metres from the proposed site.
He said: “We will now consult fully with the village to find a good use for the site that is acceptable to all who live here.”
He added discussions with the county council will start this week over what to do with the site.
Mettle Hill was shut down in 1996 after problems with crime and vandalism. More than 4,000 people had signed a petition against the district council’s plans to re-open it.
A spokesman for the district council said independent research published in June found that 20 extra pitches would be needed in South Cambridgeshire until 2031 to provide sufficient housing for travellers.
But he added: “A recent letter from Andrew Lansley MP to the leader of the council suggests Government policy does not require councils to provide further pitches.”
A council's decision to abandon its plans to reopen an infamous Travellers’ site has been welcomed by South Cambridgeshire MP Andrew Lansley.
South Cambridgeshire District Council’s plan to buy Mettle Hill in Meldreth was thrown into disarray when the parish council put in a rival bid for the land.
The district council pulled out of the deal saying it would have been a “terrible” use of public money if the two councils entered a bidding war.
Mr Lansley, who is also Leader of the House of Commons, welcomed the decision. He said: “I believe that Meldreth Parish Council is best placed to decide on a future for the Mettle Hill site.
“For a decade now, I have been asking Cambridgeshire County Council to consider a sale of the land to the parish council, so I am pleased that this will now go ahead.
“I will also work together with the district council to strengthen their ability to make decisions about the local need for travellers’ sites, without these decisions being continually second-guessed by the Planning Inspectorate.”
Steve Hawkins, chairman of Meldreth Parish Council, said they were anxious “not to spoil” the travelling community of Showmen and Romany Gypsies, which is just a few metres from the proposed site.
He said: “We will now consult fully with the village to find a good use for the site that is acceptable to all who live here.”
He added discussions with the county council will start this week over what to do with the site.
Mettle Hill was shut down in 1996 after problems with crime and vandalism. More than 4,000 people had signed a petition against the district council’s plans to re-open it.
A spokesman for the district council said independent research published in June found that 20 extra pitches would be needed in South Cambridgeshire until 2031 to provide sufficient housing for travellers.
But he added: “A recent letter from Andrew Lansley MP to the leader of the council suggests Government policy does not require councils to provide further pitches.”
Dale Farm declared no go area over asbestos - Essex
From the Southend Standard
THE FORMER Dale farm traveller site has been declared a no go zone after dangerous asbestos was found on some of the bulldozed plots.
Officials from the Environment Agency are urging no one to venture onto the former illegal site off Oak Lane, Crays Hill, until the outcome of a probe into whether last year’s £7million eviction operation disturbed pollutants buried underneath from its previous use as a scrapyard.
The agency is refusing to release a report into the findings of a team of specialists who carried out a fingertip search of the green belt land in the autumn despite a freedom of information request from the Echo.
However, it confirmed asbestos has been found on the site and people have been urged to stay away in the meantime.
An agency spokeswoman said: “We advised residents to stay away from the cleared area of Dale Farm as a precaution. “
When consultants visited the site to take samples they identified bonded asbestos sheeting on some plots. “
Asbestos can have health implications if broken up so people were advised to avoid any actions that might break it up or disturb it.”
It is not yet known if the asbestos was dug up during the eviction or has been dumped by flytippers since. It is understood the agency will not release details of its report as there could be a possible prosecution of the council or Traveller owners of the site.
THE FORMER Dale farm traveller site has been declared a no go zone after dangerous asbestos was found on some of the bulldozed plots.
Officials from the Environment Agency are urging no one to venture onto the former illegal site off Oak Lane, Crays Hill, until the outcome of a probe into whether last year’s £7million eviction operation disturbed pollutants buried underneath from its previous use as a scrapyard.
The agency is refusing to release a report into the findings of a team of specialists who carried out a fingertip search of the green belt land in the autumn despite a freedom of information request from the Echo.
However, it confirmed asbestos has been found on the site and people have been urged to stay away in the meantime.
An agency spokeswoman said: “We advised residents to stay away from the cleared area of Dale Farm as a precaution. “
When consultants visited the site to take samples they identified bonded asbestos sheeting on some plots. “
Asbestos can have health implications if broken up so people were advised to avoid any actions that might break it up or disturb it.”
It is not yet known if the asbestos was dug up during the eviction or has been dumped by flytippers since. It is understood the agency will not release details of its report as there could be a possible prosecution of the council or Traveller owners of the site.
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