Newcastle council accused of 'hostility' towards travellers

A local authority has been accused of being "hostile" towards the travelling community.

Newcastle City Council evicted a large group which had set up camp in Cowgate earlier this month.

Labour councillor Lesley Storey said the authority was "in denial of a whole community's needs and way of life".

But the Labour council said an assessment found there was no demand for specific sites for travellers and it saw "no need to change that now".

In emails seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service Ms Storey said the authority responds to the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) community "in a hostile way".

She asked cabinet member for public safety Clare Penny-Evans to justify evicting a community which included 50 children without offering an alternative site.

In the leaked email chain, Ms Penny-Evans said the group had been responsible for fly-tipping, broken fences, anti-social behaviour on motorbikes, and "considerable damage to property".

The council said officials had visited the site with the police to carry out welfare checks.

"All families, approximately 15, declined a health visitor and said their children were fit and well and home educated," a spokesperson said.

After the travellers moved off the site on 11 July "council teams were deployed to clear away a substantial amount of fly-tipped rubbish and other mess", they said.

The council's Liberal Democrat opposition has also urged it to reconsider a specific site for travellers.

Group deputy leader Colin Ferguson said the authority's suggestion there was no local need was "not supported by the evidence".

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