No solution to a big fat gypsy dilemma

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

No solution to a big fat gypsy dilemma

Attempts to create new legal traveller sites have proved controversial, but David Maclean says the city mayor deserves credit for grabbing this political hot potato

It's the city council's big fat gypsy problem – where do you put scores of travellers without upsetting the local community? Last month the authority came up with three preferred sites – all in Beaumont Leys.

Then, earlier this week, the full shortlist from which those were whittled down was revealed. It showed that a further four sites in Beaumont Leys had been shortlisted as suitable sites by the council, as well as one in Aylestone.

All eight sites are now in play, after public outcry over the original three sites sent the council back to the drawing board.

Behind the push to create new legal traveller sites is city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, and his name is surely mud among some of the residents who could see travellers living next door.

However, he is right to persevere with his plans.

There's no political gain to be had here, no sweetener for potential voters. It's a headache he's enduring through principle.

At the moment, if gypsies pitch up illegally in an area, the council can move them on – but it makes no sense moving them on if their only option is to set up camp at another illegal site.

Seeing gypsies kicked from pillar to post might satisfy some residents who harbour a misguided view that, if travellers are moved on and hassled enough, they will eventually settle down in a nice semi-detached house somewhere.

But that won't ever happen.

Of course I'd feel unhappy if a traveller site was proposed right next door to me and I sympathise with those who are concerned.

But I'd certainly be more tolerant if there was a nice belt of grassland between a gypsy site and my house, as some of these proposed sites have.

When the proposed sites were announced, I drove out to each of them.

One of them already had travellers pitched illegally there. Up at Greengate Lane, the site which has provoked the most public outrage so far, there are caravans and other vehicles parked up.

It's being used as a traveller camp now, so why not formalise it, manage it properly, and make sure the council can bring in some income through rent and council tax?

It's a fair distance from nearby homes, and it really is difficult for me to see what additional disruption would be caused compared to what's already there.

Campaigners against the sites have showered the city council with freedom of information requests about its existing legal site at Meynell's Gorse in a bid to try to find new angles to oppose the moves.

For example, they have asked for the rate of rent defaults. But it turns out they're about the same as council tenants across the city. And they've asked how many gypsies have been evicted from the site in recent years, but the answer is none.

The site at Meynell's Gorse is so well-managed that some people I spoke to in the area didn't even know there was a camp nearby.

The people of the city are being given a choice – the current situation sees travellers randomly selecting plots of council land and setting up, potentially causing disruption, then being pushed on.

The option now on the table is three fixed sites, well-hidden by shrubbery and trees, managed directly by the authority, with council tax and other charges levied on those using the site.

Nonetheless, putting gypsy sites in a Labour stronghold such as Beaumont Leys will do nothing but lose Sir Peter and his colleagues popularity.

But elected mayors with guaranteed four-year terms were created, in part, to brave the difficult decisions which council leaders often balked at.

By grabbing one of the biggest hot potatoes in local government, Sir Peter is showing his mettle.

£5m cash granted to set up traveller sites in Leicestershire

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

£5m cash granted to set up traveller sites in Leicestershire

Nearly £5 million of Government cash has been made available to provide new sites for travellers in Leicester and Leicestershire.

The money, for 56 pitches, is an attempt to reduce the number of unauthorised encampments.

Housing association Framework is to get £4.3 million to provide 50 pitches, while Leicester City Council successfully bid for £270,000 to provide six pitches.

Both organisations said they did not yet know where the sites would be.

If built, the pitches would more than double the number of publicly managed traveller pitches in the county.

There are currently 20 at Aston Firs, near Hinckley, 21 at Meynells Gorse, in Leicester, and one in Hemington.

The money was welcomed by travellers' representatives but they warned 56 pitches would not be enough to meet demand.

Framework chief executive Andrew Redfern said the association would look to develop five pitches in Harborough and 15 each in Leicester, Melton and north west Leicestershire.

He said: "Deciding where these sites go is always a sensitive issue.

"There are some potential areas but we didn't want to identify any before we knew we had the money because it could lead to concern about something that may not happen.

"People's views are often that travellers are okay but not in their back gardens.

"It is the case that if we can't find suitable sites, we might not get the money.

"I honestly do not know where the sites will be. That is something we will be looking at over the next few months before we sign the contract.

"That's when the planning process will begin.

"We will manage the sites and provide good-quality accommodation.

"This is not just a question of laying a strip of concrete for people to park a caravan on.

"There will be bricks and mortar where we build accommodation for members of the travelling community not moving around – the elderly or children going to a specific school.

"We will also have install proper sanitation, electricity, communal space and play areas as well as buy the land."

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "The figures bid for by the city council and Framework are based on the sorts of numbers needed to address unauthorised encampments and contribute towards meeting the need identified in the city.

"We are looking at how and where this money should be spent to best meet the needs both of residents and the travelling community.

"A full consultation process would be carried out on any potential travellers' sites identified as part of that work."

Tracy Nedic, chairman of Leicestershire Gypsy and Traveller Liaison Group, said: "This will help because 56 pitches is good for 56 families, but it is not enough.

"Based on the number of gypsy families in and around the areas, we need triple that."I have also heard this kind of thing before and nothing has happened.

"It is one thing to say that there will be new pitches and another entirely to put it into action.

"We would like the sites to be on the outskirts of towns and villages but not next door to tips and sewage works."