Swansea Council to investigate travellers' site shortlist
GYPSY traveller sites are coming under the microscope next week.
Swansea Council's cabinet members are set to discuss the launch of a major consultation period into how a shortlist for a second permanent site in the city was chosen.
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Swansea Council leader David Phillips
Candidate sites have been whittled down from 1,006 to five.
This process was then reviewed by a new group of councillors following the local government election to assess that it was both reasonable and unbiased.
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It will soon be internally reviewed again and externally reviewed and then, in the coming months, the public will get the chance to see how that list was made — from start to finish.
Swansea Council leader David Phillips said: "The council will be totally open and transparent in its search for a second permanent site.
Information
The public will be given all the information that was used in assessing each of the 1,006 sites.
"The public will see how sites were assessed and the reasons why sites were either rejected or accepted," he added.
The plans to be discussed by cabinet on Thursday include:
Prior to the consultation, two independent reviews (one internal and one external) will be carried out to ensure that the criteria and process used by officers in assessing potential sites were both fair and reasonable.
If the reviews give the process a clean bill of health a full public consultation will be launched.
Details of the 1,006 sites will be published, together with the officer recommendations, for members of the public to see and comment on.
After consultation full council will consider the public's feedback and decide whether any of the sites should go forward for planning permission.
Mr Phillips added: "The independent reviews will provide public reassurance that every step of the process has been carried out properly and free from bias.
"I want to stress that the cabinet report is about the consultation process. We will not be discussing any sites during the cabinet meeting.
"No decisions have been made about where a second permanent site could be created and no decisions will be made until after the public has had the chance to have their say."
Comments
by muffinman235
Monday, October 29 2012, 6:34AM
“The people and residents of Llansamlet, Morriston, Birchgrove need to make their feelings known and stand up and be counted. if this proposal for a travellers/gypsy site goes ahead, (and it looks like Llansamlet is the planned site), then the value of all property in and around the area will be worthless. Not to mention the extra pressure on Peniel Green Road and the main artery into Swansea. The council needs to listen and do the honourable thing and Remove Llansamlet from the list. Why is the West Glamorgan Agreement that "No Further traveller sites were to be built at Llansamlet" has been totally Ignored??..”
by seasolder
Sunday, October 28 2012, 4:58PM
“This European legislation is one reason to pull out of Europe. It certainly cannot be right for these so called travellers to treat any site in the country with so much contempt,
We the tax-payers pay for the site facilities, then within a short period of time, the site becomes an eye-sore with humane waste plus litter degrading the whole area-- The provided toilets and washareas are smashed with the copper pipes sold to the srape yards.
If these people who do not even pay rent for these sites,just cannot be trusted to look after these sites should not be allowed to treat our city with total lack of respect.
.”
by abertawejack
Saturday, October 27 2012, 10:02PM
“Llansamlet was not on their agenda! now we find it is? what I'd like to know is: who put it back on the agenda and why is Llansamlet once again chosen when we already have two sites, one legal and one iffy, iffy being the terminological I use because this site was unintentionally to house, ONE itinerant family over a Christmas period for a couple of weeks, along with the Park and Ride services but it now transpires this to be an inevitable site, especially the number of caravans with ablutions built by our (oops sorry) council taxes. I think enough is enough Llansamlet and Morriston area in general, have put up with this charade for long enough, time for common sense to prevail and let other area's have the European legislation, as to humanitarianism aid if that what it is. How much do council receive from government to provide these facility I ask.”
by newsaffair
Saturday, October 27 2012, 12:27PM
“Those that take up resident in those parks,should be subject to all financial overheads as other residents of councils services. if there is a need to remove other refuse that is not household,ie,scrap etc,these figures should be costed into their fees.”
by rivergirl
Saturday, October 27 2012, 11:07AM
“I can't help reading between the lines that the site is going to be in Llansamlet. Let's hope that the new Labour administration turns out to be more open and transparent than the Lib Dem one it replaced.”