9(ii)(d) Amended Draft Gypsy and Traveller Local Plan

Following the introduction of Agenda Item 9(ii)d – Amended Draft Gypsy & Traveller Local Plan the motion being duly moved and seconded, the Chairman invited twelve members of the public who had registered to speak to address the Council.  

Members of the public raised comments and concerns which in summary included the following:

·           site 16 – there was concern about the increase in the number of pitches proposed to be delivered at this site. The site was within Green Belt and it was suggested that the Council would need to indicate the special circumstances for development in this area;

·           residents at site 16 would have to cross the A6 dual carriageway to access services and facilities which could put the gypsies’ and travellers at risk;

·           residents of Faldo Road, Barton would be dominated by the scale and proximity of sites 16 and 116;

·           site 26 – this site was located in an isolated part of Dunton without footpaths or street lighting.  The site had poor access to facilities and amenities. The amended site assessment had scored only 15/50;

·           if site 26 was expanded this might lead to unrest due to the possibility of having different groups  of gypsies and travellers on the same site;

·           local residents had recommended an alternative site to site 26 which would have improved screening, access to facilities and less environmental impact;

·           site 116 – there was concern regarding the site assessment.  The site was perceived as being located on agricultural land next to a busy ‘A’ road and not on brownfield land as the assessment suggested.

·           concerns about the need to ensure proof of eligibility for accessing sites.

The Executive Member for Sustainable Communities – Strategic Planning and Economic Development thanked the speakers and responded to concerns about the sites in the order they had been raised, including the following points:

·           the Council had a statutory obligation to assess the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers alongside the settled population under the Housing Act 2004.

·            if the Council did not have a Gypsy and Traveller Plan, Central Bedfordshire would be at risk of unauthorised encampments;

·           the recommended changes to the plan were based on the adoption of a 2% compound growth rate, but the extent of the proposed allocation of sites would be sufficient to deliver against the first 5 years of the Plan, should the Local Plan Inspector then recommend that a 2.5% growth rate was appropriate;

·           the significance of the Mile Tree Farm appeal within Central Bedfordshire and the action being taken in response, together with the risks associated with proceeding with an approach to gypsy and traveller site provision based on an annual growth rate of 2%, which was below the growth rate previously considered sound by the Planning Inspectorate elsewhere;

·           the reasons why alternative sites along the A6 between Barton and Luton had not been included in the final proposals;

·           issues such as access to sites adjacent to busy roads would be dealt with through the planning process;

·           the proposed expansion of the Potton site would need to be managed carefully;

·           planning conditions attached to the planning permission for sites would be enforced;

·           the Executive Member would provide the speakers in respect of site 116 with a written response;

·           windfall sites could impact on the total number of pitches that would be required.  The number of pitches would be reviewed after 5 and 10 years of the Plan to ensure they took into account any windfall provision that came forward.

The Chairman thanked the public for putting forward their views and concerns.

The Council then proceeded to consider recommendations from a special meeting of Executive on 21 January 2014 seeking approval of the Amended Draft Gypsy and Traveller Local Plan for publication and submission to the Secretary of State.

Councillor I Shingler moved an amendment to recommendation 1, which was duly seconded by Councillor Graham:

“That the Gypsy and Traveller Local Plan be approved for the purposes of publication and submission to the Secretary of State

Subject to the proposed site 16, GT10, being deleted and replaced with the following statement:

“The Sustainable Communities Overview & Scrutiny Committee and the Executive of this Council had already determined that site 16 Faldo Road, Barton-le-Clay, should be allocated 15 pitches in our Draft Gypsy & Traveller Plan.

In the week before this decision could be ratified by Full Council the Secretary of State made a statement through the Local Government Minister that unmet need does not justify sites in the Green Belt.

Rather than further delay in bringing this Draft Plan to a satisfactory conclusion, we would like to proceed with the following statement of intent:

That this Council will nominate 15 specific deliverable pitches within 12 months of the final approval of our Draft Plan to replace the pitches originally allocated to site 16.”

On a vote by show of hands, this amendment was lost.

Councillor Zerny moved an amendment to recommendation 1, which was duly seconded by Councillor Egan.

“That the Draft Pre-Submission Gypsy and Traveller Plan, be approved for the purposes of Publication and Submission to the Secretary of State, subject to the removal of site 26 from the Plan on the grounds that it is not fit for purpose.”

On a vote by show of hands the amendment was lost.

RESOLVED

1.         that the Draft Gypsy and Traveller Local Plan be approved for the purposes of publication and submission to the Secretary of State.

2.      that the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Executive Member for Sustainable Communities – Strategic Planning and Economic Development be authorised to make any minor amendments to the Gypsy and Traveller Local Plan:

(i)      prior to publication

(ii)     after publication but before submission; and

(iii)    during the Examination process.

At the conclusion of this item, the Chairman adjourned the meeting from 9.40pm to 9.45pm enabling those members of the public who did not wish to remain, to leave the meeting.

The Council then resumed the order of business as set out on the agenda.