Cottingley Springs - a failed political stitch up!

Cottingley Springs Expansion - a political stitch-up!

I have made a formal request to investigate the failure of Leeds City Council to get planning permission for their expansion of Cottingley Springs Travellers site and revelations that the failed venture has cost local taxpayers over £70,000.

I have also formally requested a full breakdown of the cost to local taxpayers of this failure by Leeds City Council to obtain planning permission for their expansion plan at Cottingley Springs and that Scrutiny Board fully investigates the circumstances around this failure as I believe that the whole application was an attempt to use the planning process and public funds to deliver a political stitch-up. This failure has cost local taxpayers dearly.

The Planning Inspector who examined the Planning Application at a Public Inquiry last year found that the council had failed on numerous planning grounds. The Inspector also criticised the Councils regeneration policies which had been used to prevent the provision of smaller family Traveller sites across large areas of Leeds City Council regeneration zone to the South and East of the City.

It was clear from the Planning Inspectors decision that she believed Leeds City Council has breached its own planning and regeneration policies and expanding Cottingley Springs would leave the Traveller community more isolated. Smaller family sites across Leeds are the answer to unauthorised Travellers encampments and the operation of a deliberate Traveller exclusion policy by Leeds City Council needs to be full investigated.

My view is that Labour Councillors on Leeds City Council were keen to avoid providing Travellers sites in their areas preferring to expand a site that had no Labour Councillors representing the area. It was nothing more than a political stich-up!

I made his requests at last Wednesday Full City Council Meeting and will be seeking advice on taking legal action against Leeds City Councils failings after the Easter break.

This waste of thousands of pounds of taxpayer’s money on a politicised planning application is unacceptable in these difficult financial times and the matter needs to be investigated thoroughly.