Traveller site expansion plan halted to save money

Plans to extend Wakefield’s biggest council-run traveller site have been put on hold.

A £5.8m scheme to increase the number of pitches at Heath Common has been halted as part of spending cuts, Wakefield Council said.

The proposals had involved the local authority buying a historic former golf house building so it could be demolished to make way for the extension.

The area around the property had been earmarked to provide more gypsy and traveller accommodation.

Council leader Denise Jeffery told parish councillors in Warmfield-cum-Heath of the move on 18 September, draft minutes of a meeting confirmed.

The expansion remains in Wakefield's Local Development Plan, which plots long-term infrastructure schemes.

But it has been removed from the district council's capital programme, which is focused on imminent spending projects, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Confirming the decision, Natalie Palmer, Wakefield Council’s corporate director for resources, said: “In the past year we have significantly reviewed our capital programme to ensure it reflects the financial resources we have available to deliver projects.

“As a result of this, an extension to the traveller site at Heath Common is not currently within our capital programme.”

It was revealed in 2022 that the council was considering spending more than £1m on the Old Golf House building as it faced strict deadlines on providing more traveller pitches across the district.

Purchasing the 126-year-old property would have allowed the council to lift a restrictive covenant prohibiting development on nearby land.

The council previously said it was legally obliged to accommodate travelling families.

But resident groups including the Heath Residents’ Association have opposed the plans and criticised spiralling costs.

Wakefield Council warned last month that it was heading for an overspend of £9.9m this financial year.

A recent financial report outlined how the overspend was mainly due to a prolonged period of high inflation, coupled with increasing demand for frontline services.

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