Comment | Read Comments (7)

PROTESTERS opposed to a permanent gipsy site in north Wiltshire were granted their wish when the council ruled out the use of all six shortlisted sites.

On Wednesday afternoon a report to the Executive committee was published on North Wiltshire District Council's website.

The report recommended that none of the six publicly owned sites in Chippenham, Calne and Wootton Bassett should be considered.

The issue will now be discussed by the Executive committee at a meeting in the Olympiad Leisure Centre in Chippenham on July 3.

The six sites included Abberd Lane and Oxford Road in Calne and Long Close,Hardens Mead and Stanley Lane in Chippenham. As well as the sites in public ownership, nine private sites were also identified as possibilities, but council leader Dick Tonge said they were unable to discuss where they were as yet.

He said: "If any of them were suitable then we would approach the landlordand see if they were interested and then they would have to submit aplanning application."

The report said the land in Long Close and Hardens Mead was too close to a major flood plain, while land at Stanley Lane was considered to be too close to power lines and land in Abberd Lane was also within an identified floodplain.

The Government initially gave the district council £250,000 to provide 24 permanent sites within the area. But in May the Government Office for the South West said 48 pitches were needed in north Wiltshire.

Cllr Tonge said it was a decision the council would fight. He said: "Unless we resist this then for all we know they might come at us with 96 next time. It makes us nervous about other possible stupid decisions they are going to make in the future."

Cllr Tonge explained that in the short term the council would explore planning applications for sites, but after April it will be down to the new unitary authority, Wiltshire Council, to look at the issue.

During the consultation period, protesters staged a march through Chippenham, and Cllr Tonge added: "We have not enjoyed this anymore than any member of the public."

People living near the proposed gipsy sites in Chippenham were pleased with this week's report, but blamed the council for putting them through six weeks of uncertainty.Paul Manns, 33, an IT consultant living in Long Close, said: "Whether people are liberal or the extreme opposite, at the end of the day I don't think anyone wanted a site at the end of their garden.

"I learned that even the talk of this has put my house into negative equity, so I can't imagine what would have happened if a site had gone ahead."

Frederick Lardner, 78, from Hardens Mead, said: "I know that gipsies and travellers have to find somewhere to live and I am not against them doing so.

"I am, however, against the council over all of this. I am relieved that it is not going ahead.

"The process was wrong in the first place.

"Why didn't the council investigate private areas of land or MoD sites and why do areas like Kennet not have any sites for instance?"

4:05pm Saturday 28th June 2008

Print

Email this

Comment