Say NO to travellers sites in Bournemouth & Poole

PLANNERS should send out a message that “Bournemouth is full” and there are no suitable sites for gypsy and traveller pitches, it has been claimed.

The call comes from one of the town’s MPs and a councillor who has three proposed traveller sites in his patch.

Nine councils across Dorset banded together three years ago to hire consultants in a bid to find suitable travellers’ sites.

The consultants have come up with four suggested sites in Bournemouth – three in the green belt at Throop and Muscliff and one near the Lansdowne.

Independent councillor Cllr Ron Whittaker, of Throop and Muscliff, said: “Over the years members have been united in saying that Bournemouth just does not have that type of land available for any permanent or transit sites.”

He said access to the green belt sites was through heavily populated areas and that the nearby schools were already oversubscribed.

“One hopes that the secretary of state will intervene as Bournemouth just cannot find land that will allow such sites within this borough,” he said.

Bournemouth East’s Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood said the council did not need to pursue the issue.

“I am unsure why the council is pursuing this now that the law has now changed,” he said.

He said the abolition of controversial Regional Spatial Strategies meant local councils were now responsible for deciding what traveller sites were necessary.

“I am afraid I will be opposing any provision of traveller sites in Bournemouth East. Bournemouth is full,” he said.

But the council’s leader, Cllr Peter Charon, said the council still had to produce a “core strategy” and a development plan which provided for gypsy and traveller needs.

“Not to consult with local people and other stakeholders on the suitability of site provision within the borough could put in jeopardy the approval of our Core Strategy by the government, so it is a requirement that we do so,” he said.

“Government has not followed through on its promise to allow local authorities the power to determine the right level of provision within their area, despite launching a consultation on planning for traveller sites, because there is still no proposal to remove the duties imposed previously,” he said.

James Cain, planning consultant with Bournemouth solicitor Horsey Lightly Fynn, said finding suitable sites would be “very difficult” because the conurbation was so densely developed and the fringes were green belt or heathlands.

“The best advice that I can give to anyone who feels strongly about any of the proposed sites is to form local pressure groups and ensure that you object on the planning merits of each proposal. “This could turn very much into a political football over the coming months,” he said.