Sneckyeat Gypsy and traveller site approved despite opposition

A council has decided to allocate a former landfill site as an area for use by Gypsies and travellers, despite local objections.

Copeland Borough Council voted to approve plans to use Whitehaven's Sneckyeat industrial estate as part of its legal obligation to provide a site.

An objector in the public gallery said the decision was "a whitewash" and the councillors "represent nothing".

The use of the site will now go out to further public consultation.

Local authorities are required by law to allocate areas in their Local Plans that could potentially be used for permanent Gypsy and traveller communities.

The public had been asked to comment on two possible sites, at Sneckyeat and Greenbank.

Whitehaven Town Council objected to both sites at a meeting in April, stating that a rural area would be more suitable.

The Greenback option was later dropped, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Opponents of the Sneckyeat site had raised concerns about the suitability of the land, the potential cost of making it safe and its proximity to the settled community.

Whitehaven town councillors Edwin and Gemma Dinsdale and resident Ian Thomason brought a petition against both sites to the meeting.

Questions were asked about why the Lake District National Park was excluded from the consultation.

Copeland mayor Mike Starkie said a need was not identified in rural areas.

Mrs Dinsdale said she had concerns about the site's safety because, when it had been suggested as an allotment site, "it was deemed as unsafe to do so, because issues with metals under the ground, a build-up of methane gas and multiple other reasons".

"Every person deserves to live in a safe place," she said.

The meeting was told any issues would be addressed through the planning process.

As councillors voted to accept the plans, an objector stood up and called out from the public gallery that the decision was " a whitewash".

Told by the chair to sit down, he refused, saying councillors were "supposed to represent the people, you represent nothing".

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