Finding a designated stopover site for travellers in North East Lincolnshire must be resolved, says the council’s deputy leader, John Fenty.
At a meeting of NELC’s economy scrutiny panel, held in private on Tuesday evening, councillors agreed to expand the list of six shortlisted sites to examine other possible locations.
Councillor Fenty said told the panel NELC has a duty to find a site in the borough, as a legal requirement of the Local Plan, and must be near shops and medical facilities. It must also be gated, with water and power, a waste facility and CCTV.
“We can’t just locate it in the outback,” he said, adding that hundreds of thousands of pounds have been wasted on sorting illegal encampments.
“It is important we put off those costs,” he said. “These will only stop when there is a designated stopping place.”
In a statement, he said: “We know that this is a sensitive issue and we have said before that we are determined to find a site and satisfy the requirement in the Local Plan.
“The shortlist of sites has been kept confidential because we are discussing matters of commercial and financial sensitivity, and it is possible that advice from organisations such as the Environment Agency and the police and fire services might rule out some of these sites as we move forward, so it wouldn’t make sense to publish a list that could then not end up being the final list.
“To be clear, no decisions have yet been made. Once Scrutiny has passed on its observations and Cabinet is happy with the shortlist of sites, the public will get to have their say. This is all a part of the normal democratic process.”
Talks have been held between NELC’s leader, Councillor Philip Jackson, and Humberside Police about the issue.
Councillor Fenty said: “We have to make a decision. We can’t procrastinate any longer. It has been going on for five years. The Government has told us we have to have a site.”
Tuesday’s meeting was deferred to another date yet to be set. Councillors will be asked to make a recommendation on a preferred site, which will be then decided on at Cabinet level prior to a full public consultation.
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