news story

15th July 2009

MP Challenges Ministers over Gypsy & Traveller Policy in South Glos

Click here to read the debate

Northavon MP Steve Webb has led a debate in Parliament over the issue of the allocation of gypsy and traveller sites in South Gloucestershire. The MP led a 30 minute debate on Tuesday 14th July, prompted by local concerns over the way that traveller sites have recently got through the planning system or may be allocated in the future.

Within the last few weeks a particularly controversial planning application for a site at Hall End in the Rangeworthy area was narrowly approved by the Council, despite the same Council having spent years taking enforcement action on the same site to remove an unauthorised encampment. At around the same time the Council indicated that it was considering including a new 'supersite' in a nearby rural area north of Yate in its current two-year consultation process on suitable gypsy and traveller sites.

Hundreds of local residents attended a protest meeting angry at the way local views were ignored by councillors from other areas when the Hall End application was approved, and attention is now turning to the proposed 'supersite' at Tanhouse Lane. This proposed site could have room for at least a dozen 'pitches' which could mean many times that number of caravans, utility blocks etc. in a rural area poorly served by country roads, near a busy railway line and with no mains drainage.

Commenting ahead of the debate, Steve Webb said:

"It is right that the Council should try to identify suitable sites across South Gloucestershire for gypsies and travellers, but local residents are angry that clearly unsuitable sites have been approved by councillors who appear to have no interest in the views of local people.

"Although the Council is consulting on its long-term strategy for sites, the campaigners I have met have no faith that their views will be listened to in the future when they have been so clearly ignored in the recent past.

"If the Council were to include the Tanhouse Lane 'supersite' in its Autumn consultation document, this would be the clearest indication yet that they were simply not listening to local people. This is not a site that should be approved for traditional housing development and it should not be approved as a travellers site for exactly the same reasons.

"I believe that all groups in society should be treated fairly - the majority who make up the settled community and also those who are gypsies and travellers. But at present it seems that the rules are not fair and are not being applied equally.

"I will be asking ministers to look at the impact of the duties that they have placed on Councils with regard to gypsies and travellers. We need a system that is fair and is seen to be fair to all concerned".