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Cllr Keith Baker and senior strategy officer Carol Lovell look over the expansion plans in June
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Traveller site to extend into green belt despite "dangerous precedent" fears

By Jon Nurse
November 01, 2012

A traveller site will be extended on to green belt land despite warnings it could set a ‘dangerous precedent’.

Plans to expand Twyford Orchards on to 0.64 hectares of green belt were unanimously approved by Wokingham Borough Council’s executive last Thursday.

Twyford ward member Councillor Dee Tomlin raised the issue that building on the green belt would set a dangerous precedent.

But Cllr Keith Baker, executive member for highways and planning, strongly disagreed, stating Traveller sites may be built on green belt land under exceptional circumstances.

The site in London Road has serious fire and safety issues because of overcrowding, which Cllr Baker classed as exceptional.

The £1.2 million project will increase the size of the pitches to have 10 on the existing site and 10 on neighbouring land, which the council is negotiating to lease.

Responding to Cllr Tomlin’s question about why the overcrowding had not been dealt with earlier, Cllr Baker said: “We made a decision early on that we would not evict these eight families but as part of the work to address the fire safety issues we would try to accommodate an extra four pitches.

“I would be surprised if you, as a Liberal Democrat councillor, would not be supporting the efforts to keep these extended families together if at all possible.

“Or are you abandoning your party’s principles and simply acting as a political opportunist?”

Cllr Tomlin was unhappy with the party comment and leader of the council Cllr David Lee stepped in agreeing it was unacceptable.

The approved proposals allow for £1.4 million of funding, including £575,000 secured from the Homes and Communities Agency.

A planning application for the site is expected to be submitted in the next month.

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Most recent user comments 7 of 7

Really don't understand. Could the councillor not give us the real reason for doing this? It's supposed to be out of the kindness of his heart?

If you have a site for X number of people, and then their 'extended family' move in causing overcrowding, what do you do? You move the 'extended family' on. You don't buy land using public money and build them lovely new pitches and amenity blocks. What kind of precedent is that to set? What message does it send? When the work is done, if 20 more family members move onto the site, do we then buy another 3 acres and build more plots there?

Damiano_Tommassi, Wokingham
05/11/2012 at 09:49

or Gypsy site Gypsy is not offending to a real gypsy still would love the council to build my extension

Charlie Charlie
01/11/2012 at 22:45

Can we call this a static caravan site, travellers site indicates that people move on, this is clearly not the case.

Jeppo
01/11/2012 at 17:13

I would be surprised if you, as a Liberal Democrat councillor, would not be supporting the efforts to keep these extended families together if at all possible.

And as a house deweller I would like my extended family to live with me will the council build me an extention. Will have to ask them.

Charlie Charlie
01/11/2012 at 13:41

I would be surprised if you, as a Liberal Democrat councillor, would not be supporting the efforts to keep these extended families together if at all possible.

I have extended familiy please can you build me an extention would love them to live with me

BS

Charlie Charlie
01/11/2012 at 13:41

Wokingham's "Green belt" won't even be a "Green String" in 10 years with this council. Nice legacy for our children.

Local Woky, Wokingham
01/11/2012 at 13:28

What is 0.64 hectares of green belt compared with the hundreds of acres of green space that Wokingham council has approved for housing etc. in the last few years? We should be much more concerned with what they are doing to the fields surrounding Wokingham and the parks within the borough.