Officers added Llansamlet Gypsy site to shortlist - claim
COUNCILLORS tasked with finding potential sites for Gypsies in Swansea say Llansamlet was added to a short- list of locations they had produced and were due to visit.
Swansea Council set-up a Task and Finish Group in March 2010 to evaluate suitable sites for Gypsies and travellers and make recommendations to the authority.
The group was made up of elected members, who earlier this year set out to visit five sites which they had shortlisted.
But five members of the group, made up of present and former councillors, have now put their names to a statement which reads: "During the week commencing April 9, a site visit was arranged to visit five sites the Task and Finish group had shortlisted.
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"The list of sites was only issued to members shortly before the day of the visit, and some of us only noticed that the list had been changed shortly before the site visits actually commenced, and a site in Llansamlet had been added."
Swansea Council has strongly refuted the allegation.
The statement goes on to say: "We expressed our disapproval to the officers accompanying the group, but felt unable to take the matter further since we were already well into the official local government election campaign. Llansamlet WAS NOT a site shortlisted by the elected members; we were told Llansamlet was included because of a decision made by officers." The statement is signed by councillors Penny Matthews and Tony Colburn, and former councillors Roger Smith, John Hague and June Evans.
Llansamlet already has one permanent Gypsy site, while one family is camped temporarily on the Swansea Vale park and ride. Last month, around 400 residents attended a meeting at Birchgrove Comprehensive School to voice their opposition to a new Gypsy site in Llansamlet.
They were told the former West Glamorgan County Council had, during the mid-1980s, formulised what became known as the West Glamorgan Agreement, which meant there would not be another travellers' site in the Llansamlet area.
A Swansea Council spokesman said: "The work of the previous task and finish group resulted in a number of potential sites being identified. Part of this work also included site visits and the councillors in the group were fully aware of all the sites they would be visiting. It is totally inaccurate to suggest additional sites were added in to the process prior to the visit. The current Task and Finish Group has been reviewing the work of its predecessor and no decisions have been made in relation to any potential sites."
Comments
by speedy60
Saturday, October 20 2012, 1:10AM
“The current labour adminisration were elected in Llansamlet Ward on the premise that no more traveller sites would be allocated to this ward David Phillips as leader do your duty and veto any sites that have been designateds by officers.”
by speedy60
Saturday, October 20 2012, 1:03AM
“David Phillips as leadder of the administration stand up for the platform you were elected on no more traveller/gypsy sites inLlansamlet Ward.”
by brochadav
Friday, October 19 2012, 11:24PM
“Neathboy, how many of these travellers are born in Wales? Do you know? Because I've met quite a few (coming round offering to do jobs I don't need, begging, parked in my old works car park and threatening us with violence when they were asked to move) and none of them had welsh accents. There were mostly Irish so yes, if they want a home then go home and if they are travellers then travel. As travellers, after all, all they really need is permanent camp sites to move around to. So why don't they use camp sites? because they don't want to pay for something they expect us to give for free out of the taxes which most of them don't pay. I want my taxes to pay for services for permanent residents, not full time freeloaders.”
by sueswansea
Friday, October 19 2012, 4:48PM
“Havent Llansamlet had enough of Gypsies over the years. Why are there still some living in the park and ride site too ? Ive noticed they have even erected a shed and put up fences. If they want to be travellers then fine TRAVEL.”
by Neathboy234
Friday, October 19 2012, 3:51PM
“*****terrier what's all this nonsense about people having to go home, if they are born in Wales then this is their home. Besides we have the free moment of people within the EU, and before that when England took it upon it's self to invade the Ireland we also had free moment within our islands.”
by taffyterrier
Friday, October 19 2012, 3:32PM
“Where is this going to stop, because we cannot keep on providing sites for "TRAVELLERS" because when they have families of 10 or more children who grow up get married and then want a site and so it goes on we will run out of places to put them. Anyway I think if they have Irish roots and if it is true they have houses in Ireland then why do they not go home, enough is enough and at the end of the day the politicians who say we must provide sites do not have any sites near to their properties .
There are enough in the Llansamlet ward so please no more.”
by muffinman235
Friday, October 19 2012, 10:21AM
“This is a smack in the teeth for the residents of Llansamlet and surrounding areas, and stinks of underhandedness. The West Glamorgan agreement that no more Gypsy/travellers sites were to be built at Llansamlet clearly wasn't worth the paper it was wrote on. The element of trust has gone in this so called councils decisions, and the sooner Llansamlet is removed from the list the better..”
by rivergirl
Friday, October 19 2012, 9:56AM
“This is confusing, isn't it? Five councillors insist that a site was added at a very late stage and council officers deny it ever happened. But that's what you get when you do your business behind closed doors. I hope the new Labour council is a lot more open in its dealings. Or am I wasting my breath?”