South Kesteven District councillor's bid to give gypsies and travellers proper facilities in area fails
A councillor’s bid for gypsies and travellers to have access to enough proper facilities in South Kesteven has failed.
District Councillor Charmaine Morgan (Lab) put forward a motion at last Thursday’s full meeting of South Kesteven District Council in a bid to give gypsies and travellers access to enough proper facilities in the district by 2021.
Coun Morgan’s motion said: “Gypsies and travellers have used unauthorised and often sub-standard insanitary sites as a means of overcoming the shortage of authorised allocated sites. This has led to conflict with other communities and being counter-productive to reducing prejudice against them.”
The motion proposed that: “SKDC will work with representatives of the gypsy and traveller communities to identify what land is suitable for their needs and will provide properly-serviced, authorised permanent and temporary transit sites as required no later than 2021.”
In support of the motion, Coun Phil Dilks (Ind) said: “We need to get on and do our duty in actually finding the sites that we’ve been told years and years ago that we need to have.”
Coun Morgan said: “I cannot tell you how ashamed I felt speaking to a Grantham gypsy resident when she said ‘people here wish we didn’t exist. We are nobody. We are invisible.’ Let’s show her she was wrong.”
In opposition to the motion, Coun Robert Reid (Con) said: “The need to identify and bring forward suitable land for the use of gypsy and travellers is one that SKDC takes very seriously.
“SKDC will continue to work with representatives of the gypsy and traveller communities post-adoption (of the Local Plan) as part of the required review to identify what land and associated amenities are required to meet their needs.
“I think it is very important Madam Chairman and I’m sure many or all members share with me the social, educational, well-being and inclusion of gypsy and travellers and indeed I would like to uphold that there would certainly be no discrimination.”
Leader of the council Kelham Cooke (Con) did not support the motion. He said: “We will be reviewing this within the Local Plan and I can give you my personal assurance that we are not kicking this into the long grass.
“We will work and ensure that this chamber makes decisions through consultation.
“I understand a number of members on our own side have got concerns about this because we haven’t dealt with it and we need to put the appropriate structure into it and I know Coun Reid will be doing that and I know that he will be very keen to engage with all members in this chamber in doing so.”
