Ratby Lane Travellers' camp could be open by Christmas - Jun 25, 2007

Mrs. Pauline Hulett, resident on the farm at Ratby Lane where the proposed Travellers transit site is likely be built was today contacted by the Leicester Mercury advising her that the Leicester City Council were proposing to evict her to enable the transit site to be completed.

Mrs Hulett was told that Councilor Robert Wann was confident that the Government grant for providing a temporary stay travellers site would be confirmed during the next two weeks. It was his intention to use this to revive the plan to develop part of the land and it would be completed in the next six months.

This is the second time Mrs Hulett (a tenant on the farm for over twenty years) has been let down by Leicester City Councillors by with holding information relating to her tenancy. This announcement came as a complete surprise to Mrs Hulett as it was thought that this plan was the `pet' idea of former Leicester City Councillor John Mugglestone (Conservative) who lost his post following the takeover of control of the City Council by Labour.

Leicester City Councillor Ross Willmott was to be interviewed on Radio Leicester by Tony Wadsworth. In typical fighting fashion Mrs Hulett rang the station and challenged the leader.

According to Councillor Ross Willmott who stated on air that "NO DECISION" at all had been taken and that alternatives were still being looked into. He suggested that perhaps this was Councillor Wann's own wishes to proceed with the site at Ratby Lane.

Ironically Mrs Hulett has known Robert Wann since he was a child, he and his parents were considered to be family friends. She thanked him (Councillor Wann) for `stabbing her in the back'

We were previously led to believe that Ross Willmott wished to work with the Leicestershire County Council.
Let us all hope that common sense prevails.

Ratby Lane Travelers' transit camp could be open by Christmas Source Leicester Mercury

A controversial travellers' camp could be in operation within six months, the Leicester Mercury can reveal.

The city council spokesman for environment, Coun Robert Wann, says he wants the transit camp off Ratby Lane, Braunstone Frith, Leicester, open by Christmas this year.

More than 3,500 angry protesters signed petitions to block the proposals last year, and today many said they were shocked by the latest development.

New figures show the city council has been forced to deal with about 700 illegal travellers' camps in the past 10 years - costing the taxpayer more than £100,000 to clean up.

Coun Wann said: "We have been too slow to find new sites and I believe it is something which councils have tried to push under the carpet and hope will go away.

"We have a site earmarked on Ratby Lane, and all being well we would like to have it up and running in six months.

"Once it is open, travellers will have no excuses (to camp illegally), and we can move them on into the new camp.

"I know it will not make illegal camps disappear, but it will help us take action at last."

Both the city and county councils have been looking for new transit sites because the Government says they do not have enough space for travellers who visit Leicestershire.

They have both applied to the Government for cash to pay for the sites.

Ratby Lane is currently the city council's only identified area for a transit camp, while the county council has none.

Pauline Hulett rents Cottage Farm from the city council on the site and would be thrown off, if the camp is built. She has campaigned against the plan.

She said: "I feel shocked by this news and stabbed in the back by Mr Wann.

"I have known him since he was young, and he had been supportive of my cause, but this has all changed it seems. I had no clue.

"They don't care about me or the views of the thousands against this. It is incredible that they would still consider it despite the public anger towards the idea.

"I have a year's notice period in my contract and I will have that at the very least. They won't get me off in six months."

Fellow protestor Gerry Faulkner said: "I am really taken aback because I think we all hoped this idea went with the previous city council administration.

"If they think it will be easy to bring it in within six months, they'll have a shock."

Transit camps would allow police to break-up illegal camps and move travellers into the new sites.

New figures show that nearly one in three of the county's 631 illegal camps in the past 10 years were in north west Leicestershire, many close to Coalville and Castle Donington.

Leicester has had 43 illegal camps in the last five years, the only period the authority has figures for.

The county council spokesman on travellers, Coun Kevin Feltham, said: "We are searching everywhere for suitable land for a transit camp, but have not identified any one site yet.

"We are taking the time needed to find at least one suitable site."