Leeds City Councils plans to expand Cottingley Springs Travellers site are to be discussed at a consultation meeting to be held at 6pm at Gildersome Meeting Hall on Wednesday 24th July.
I’ve been contacted by local residents about the proposal and I believe residents have legitimate concerns about the expansion of the Travellers site at Cottingley Springs. The village of Gildersome already suffers the impact of this large site on their doorstep and any expansion will mean an expansion of the problems they face.
The Morley Borough Independent Group has already confirmed its opposition to the proposals and has suggested that smaller site across other areas of Leeds is the answer to the blight of unauthorised Travellers sites.
We already have several small Traveller site across the Morley area as well as this large permanent site on our doorstep. It’s time for other areas in Leeds to take their share of this burden and accept some smaller sites in their neighbourhoods.
As regular readers will know I have called for the occupation of private land by Travellers to move from being a civil to a criminal matter. This is what happens in Eire and reduces the number of unauthorised sites as the Police then have the power to move Travellers on immediately without the often long delay in obtaining an eviction notice. This seems to me the easiest way to relieve residents of the blight unauthorised camps impose on them. No Government has yet had the backbone to introduce the same legislation the Irish have. Lets hope for better at the next General Election - but don't hold your breath!
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