£3.4 million for traveller sites project (From This Is Wiltshire)

Cash for new and existing pitches

9:00pm Saturday 21st January 2012 in News

Wiltshire has been given £3.4 million to create and upgrade sites for gypsies and travellers.

The money awarded to Wiltshire Council by the Government is the largest grant allocation in the South West region.

Of the money, £1.15 million will be for 20 new pitches and £2.3 million is earmarked for improvements to 40 existing pitches.

Wiltshire Council will put £250,000 towards the scheme.

Toby Sturgis, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for development control, said the council had to provide sites for gypsies and the travelling community by law. It currently has 102 pitches.

He said consultation was on-going with travellers and land owners about finding suitable sites for the 20 new pitches, which would probably be on three sites.

He said one possible site could be Chelworth Lodge at Cricklade, which won planning permission on appeal for a travellers’ site.

He said it was also possible that a few of the new pitches could be provided at some of the council’s existing sites.

The improvements to 40 pitches would probably be to some on each of the sites the council owns.

These are: Thingley, between Chippenham and Corsham (23 pitches); Fairhaven, Dilton Marsh (seven pitches); Lode Hill, Downton (10 pitches); Dairy House Bridge, Salisbury (18 pitches); Oak Tree Fields, Odstock (32 pitches); and Odstock transit site (12 pitches).

Cllr Sturgis said: “Where mobile homes have moved in and out, there is a lot of uneven concrete.

“The surfaces are not as good as I would like to see and some of the electrical and water connections are not up to the standards because they have been altered a number of times.”

He added: “It’s very good news that the Government are providing the capital money for this, as we would have had to spend a large amount of our own capital. We can use that capital for something else.”

Communities Minister Andrew Stunell said: “This funding will help provide sites in a way that reflects local need, in consultation with the local community.

“It will assist hundreds of traveller families find sites where they want to live and foster better relations with the existing communities and councils.”