Powys Council tight-lipped over new gypsy site locations

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter

Alternative locations have been put forward by private individuals as part of a search for a new gypsy/traveller site near Welshpool, but Powys County Council won’t be saying where they are or who proposed them, yet.

Last month, Trewern County Councillor Cllr Amanda Jenner posed a number of questions to the council’s Head of Economy and Climate Change, Daniel Burgess, asking how the search for a new site in the Welshpool area was progressing.

The council has explained that it needs to find a new site as there is no more space to extend the current site at Leighton Arches, Welshpool – which is very close to the River Severn.

Six sites were put forward for consideration, including five on council land in the villages of Leighton and Forden, and also a site in Churchstoke, which were consulted upon last autumn.

At the time, Council Leader Cllr Jake Berriman (Liberal Democrat – Llandrindod North) also urged people to put forward other sites in the area for consideration if they met the criteria of being able to accommodate 12 mobile homes with room for “further expansion”.

Cllr Jenner (Conservative) represents the ward of Trewern and Trelystan which includes Leighton, which has three sites in the consultation.

Cllr Jenner formally asked for details of each alternative site and who had put them forward, asking also whether the gypsy/traveller community had been consulted and whether a fresh consultation would now be required.

Mr Burgess has now answered her questions, saying: “At this stage, the authority would not be in a position to publish information ruling individual sites in or out whilst the assessment work is still ongoing.

“The alternative sites put forward as part of the consultation are from private individuals.

“Having the site locations in the public domain would not be appropriate whilst they are subject to preliminary assessment work.”

He explained that “site-specific ground investigation” would only happen when a “preferred site” is found.

Mr Burgess added: “The sites are generally greenfield with limited potential for contamination, and any potential issues could be mitigated as part of the design process.

“Any subsequent ground investigations form part of the wider due process for identifying potential sites and releasing partial technical information without the accompanying analysis and context would risk misinterpretation and could undermine the integrity of the process.”

Once the full assessment is completed and the information is sorted out in a “publishable form” that the council is “happy with”, it will be made public.

“This ensures that the data is presented accurately, consistently, and in line with the council’s statutory obligations,” said Mr Burgess.

Until then, updates will be given internally behind closed doors through the agreed reporting channels.

Mr Burgess added: “The views of the gypsy and traveller community were captured as part of the consultation process.”

All Local Authorities in Wales have a duty under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 to assess the accommodation needs of our Gypsy and Traveller communities.

The current sites under consideration are:

• 7.83 hectares on land opposite Severnleigh/Stables/Coach House/Granary at Leighton.
•  11.39 hectares on land southwest of Severnleigh at Leighton.
•  47.12 hectares of buildings and land at Gwyn’s Barn – Leighton.
• 2.92 hectares of land north of Church Farm/Church Farm close – Forden.
•  3.6 hectares of land of the C2114 road at land south/southwest of Church Farm/Church Farm Close opposite Pound Fields in Forden.
•  8.26 hectares of land at Fir House – Churchstoke.