Please can the cabinet member provide clarification on the recent proposal to establish a third site within the small hamlet, while I appreciate the importance of providing adequate accommodation for the Gypsy and Traveller community, I am concerned about the concentration of multiple sites in one small area. Specifically, I would like to understand the rationale behind this decision and why a more distributed approach across the entire county, has not been considered?
Minutes:
Please can the Cabinet Member provide clarification on the recent proposal to establish a third site within the small hamlet, while I appreciate the importance of providing adequate accommodation for the Gypsy and Traveller community, I am concerned about the concentration of multiple sites in one small area. Specifically, I would like to understand the rationale behind this decision and why a more distributed approach across the entire county, has not been considered?
The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for a Sustainable Economy welcomed the question as an opportunity to share with Council and the wider community how we are responding to the assessed need for Gypsy and Traveller pitches.
In October, Cabinet initiated a consultation and technical appraisal of three potential sites to provide 11 pitches for Gypsy and Traveller households.
The Cabinet Member was reviewing the responses of the consultation and the technical studies whilst awaiting the decision of the Planning Committee on an application relating to a site in Llancayo. That decision was made on Tuesday and has resulted in a reduction to the assessed need from 11 to 7 pitches.
It is proposed, on that basis, to take forward only one of the three sites for inclusion in the Replacement Local Development Plan (RLDP); the site which has the most advantages and the least disadvantages, Bradbury Farm. That proposal has been published in the report to be considered at a Special meeting of the Place Scrutiny Committee on the 24th July 2024. At that meeting, the evidence base for this preferred site will be provided.
Following the Place Scrutiny Committee meeting, any points made and those raised by Councillor Dymock, will be taken into account in a report for a Special Cabinet meeting on the 21st August 2024. If there is Cabinet support for this proposal, it will be included in the RLDP which, in October, Council will be asked to accept as the basis for public consultation throughout November and December.
The residents of Portskewett and Caldicot would have a further chance to comment on this proposal if it were included in that RLDP and was subject to that consultation at that time.
Supplementary Question
Considering the proposed dual development for the RLDP and Gypsy and Traveller site provision, what plans are in place to enhance the local infrastructure, in particular, road safety. This road has reduced visibility on the blind bend, so access and egress will be challenging, noise levels in particular for those living in static accommodation and preserving the nearby area of SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), the Neddern Brook Wetlands in Caldicot, which is only a few hundred metres away.
The Cabinet Member agreed that the existing highway (Crick Rd)
would not provide suitable access and egress to a Traveller site in
that area. Given the process of a
future planning application and following the RLDP, by the time the
pitches are in place plans will be advanced to develop housing on
the strategic site in Portskewett or Caldicot East. The planning
for that development will have to include a safe walking and
cycling route from the Gypsy and Traveller site through the
residential site to local amenities in Caldicot.
https://www.youtube.com/live/UhmH18Q9ego?si=rafdaLabgazBtqkE&t=16287