Local Planning Issues

Ratby Lane Travellers' site "No Decision yet" - Jun 27, 2007

Concerned residents were today reassured by council bosses that no decision has been made about where to build a new travellers' site in Leicester.

City leaders say land in Ratby Lane has not been chosen for development, despite environment spokesman, Councillor Robert Wann, saying earlier in the week that he hoped the site would be open by Christmas.

Today, Coun Wann said any decision about the location of a transit site would not be made until the council had received Government funding for the project.

It is likely to find out this summer whether a bid for £1 million of Government cash has been successful.

Previously, Coun Wann told the Leicester Mercury that, if the Government cash was handed to the city council, Ratby Lane was his preferred option.

He said today: "I would like to clarify the situation around the creation of a temporary travellers' camp in Leicester in light of the article in Monday's Leicester Mercury.

"In particular, I would like to confirm that no decision has yet been made on the creation of a temporary site anywhere in Leicester.

"We are working closely with our colleagues at the county council on this matter and an application for funding is currently lodged with the Government Office for the East Midlands.

"Until we hear whether this application has been successful, we will not be making any decisions about such a site."

Both the city and county councils have been looking for new transit sites because the Government says they must provide more space for travellers.

More than 3,500 angry protesters signed petitions to block the previous administration's proposals to build a site in Ratby Lane.

Pauline Hulett has been at the centre of the protests. She rents Cottage Farm, on the Ratby Lane site, from the city council and has campaigned, along with many others, against any camp being built there.

She said: "Coun Wann's statement has allayed my fears a little, but the council has not laid the idea to rest, which worries me, of course."

Source - Leicester Mercury