Cheshire East Council has commissioned consultants to undertake a study throughout East Cheshire to identify and shortlist potential sites for gypsies, travellers and travelling show people.
Lasting until the end of August, the study is designed to enable the Council to meet Government's requirements for identifying a five-year supply of travellers' sites to reflect the needs set out in the forthcoming revised Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Study.
The Council says it is committed to taking a proactive approach in planning for the future provision of sites to meet the needs of the travelling community. This study to identify potential sites will provide a robust evidence base to support the development of the Cheshire East Local Plan. It will be carried out in an open and transparent way, to ensure all sites are assessed in a consistent and fair way.
The study, by Peter Brett Associates, will also be used to tackle unauthorised developments, which are often in unsuitable locations. In the past, an absence of authorised sites has been used by the courts and the Planning Inspectorate across the country to justify the retention of some unauthorised developments.
As a first stage, comments are being invited on the proposed process to help appraise and identify suitable sites. Click here to access the Gypsy and Traveller and Travelling Showperson Site Identification Methodology.
A 'call for sites' process is also being undertaken and any suggestions of suitable sites and locations will be welcomed. If you know of any potential sites then you can complete and return the Call for Sites Proforma.
Any sites shortlisted in this project will be subject to further public consultation. It should be noted that if a site is shortlisted in the report it does not necessarily mean that the site will be allocated, or that planning permission will necessarily be given for the site.
The most suitable sites will be recommended to be allocated for gypsy, traveller and travelling show person use and will also then be subject to statutory planning processes.
Comments on the methodology and / or suggested potential sites should be sent to Sharon Jefferies at Peter Brett Associates at [email protected] or Peter Brett Associates, 10 Queen Square, Bristol, BS1 4NT.
The closing date for this consultation is 5pm Friday 2nd August 2013.
Comments
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I have said this before, but why pay high house prices, stamp duty and rates to live somewhere that allows a gypsy site, (btw a police community officer told me not to use that word, great!).
The "travelling folk" do not play by the rules, maybe the rules should be changed. The day they arrive somewhere the police should have the power to commandeer tractors and drag the caravans to the scrap yard. That I am sure would stop them.
Not to mention that if people don't want the "travelling folk" around then don't get your hedges trimmed cheaply, driveways done cheap, go to the circus or the fair, then they would stay way.
Any one have an idea as to what the consultants bill will be ,was it tendered for ? Or just employed to get on with it to show we the council are doing something for the community but nothing really will happen except a fat bill to pay the consultants ,yet again .
Funny how there is always money for this sort of PC nonsense, while the services we want and pay for get cut.
So we can't afford to run the public toilet in Wilmslow, but we can afford consultants reports to provide hospitality to the Irish traveling criminal fraternity while they visit us for their summer holidays.
I am sure if I was doing the job privately I could have done it for £3,000 !! I am sure I could a private contractor to send round a tipper truck and a JCB digger for an hour or so. Also why didn't the council take photos of the mess to prove to any interested party what these travellers do in our community !!! And of course these people pay no tax what so ever into the system and society they expect, by right, to live in !!
Consultants! of course the council need to pay for very expensive consultants, they need to spend their time on important things like reading the new paper and drinking coffee!!!!