Object

Gypsy and Traveller Site Options

Representation ID: 54628

Received: 02/08/2013

Respondent: Ms Jemma Jones

Representation Summary:

As a resident of Radford Semele strongly object to GT02. Do not understand why access to GPs, schools and public transport is part of the selection criteria as travelling communities do not fund these services through tax/national insurance. Similarly utilities would be provided at public expense yet travellers usually manage without them. Also travellers seem able to find sites which are unlikely to flood.

Site access is onto a very busy major arterial route with national speed limit. This will increase an already problematic road and thus increase the risk of a serious accident especially with the parking and turning of large vehicles at slow speeds.

Have huge concern for the impact the scheme will have on local landscape.

Gypsies/travellers offer no benefit to the local community and take more money out than they return. There is not a local travelling/gypsy community but gypsies/travellers are favoured over the local community who have to pay for the site. This is totally unacceptable. Radford Semele is a secure quiet and peaceful village where one can feel safe even when the street lights go out. If this site is approved street lights must stay on all night but this costs local taxpayers and the environment. Having the travelling community on the door step will drastically change the nature of Radford semele. Why should locals have to relocate to accommodate travelling families? This site will not bring peace or benefits to the community. Police and the councils asked local business to close during the horse fair in Kenilworth and the Warwick MOP due to previous problems which highlights the lack of benefit to the community.

This site will have an adverse effect on businesses in the local community and a detrimental effect on the image of this area. The quality of life here will be lost, people won't want to move here and people will lose money on their properties as a result. This is not acceptable.

Council tax must be adjusted if this goes ahead.

Full text:

In reference to SITE GT02 gypsy travel site.
As a resident of Radford semele I strongly object to the proposed traveller site on the outskirts of the village.
Reasons are as followed;

Issues with the councils criteria
In relation to the access to the GP, Schools and public transport travelling communities do not pay anything into the system regarding tax or national insurance, therefore I cannot see how they should be entitled to any of the above privileges. These are not free services that all us residence have to finance and still at times struggle to get our own children into the local schools. This is a well known issue among local parents that the council are well aware of.

In regards to the risk of flooding travellers seem to be very capable of selecting an area to site their homes that is unlikely to flood.
The proposed site at Radford is on a very busy major arterial route on a national speed limit road. This in itself raises the question of how it can be safe access to the road network especially as for local residents of surrounding villages all this will do is ever increase an already problematic road and thus increase the risk of a serious accident.
This is ever highlighted by the criteria when referring to the provision of parking and turning of large vehicles at slow speeds.
In terms of utilities being provided they are a travelling community they have sustained themselves until now and therefore why do they need to be provided for at a cost of the tax payer I might add.

I have a huge concern for the impact of the traveller site in regards to the landscape and local community as outlined in the criteria as it is being sited in beautiful countryside and also with regards to living and working in the same location there is nothing they can do at that site that would benefit the community. It would take more money than it would return.
As you can see from the concerns above the criteria outlined does not fit with the proposed site in Radford semele.
 
I OBJECT TO THE PROPOSALS ON THE FOLLOWING GROUNDS;
I don't see why a criteria has been drawn up for a travelling gypsy community for as far as I'm aware doesn't exist in the local area. And I furthermore object that you are favouring their requirements over the needs of the local community who above all else will be paying to create it let alone have to live with it. This is totally unacceptable.

Radford semele is a secure quiet and peaceful village I have a serious objection to the travelling community as they are renowned for attracting trouble. As a young woman the fact that the street lights now go out at midnight I will not feel safe in my own home anymore. I often walk my dog late at night and currently feel safe even when the street lights go out, however if you are to go ahead and grant the travellers site just down the road from the village I will no longer accept street lights being turned off at midnight thus increasing your costing as a local council and also harming the environmental standing of the Warwickshire district council.

As a young woman I will be looking at starting my own family in the near future. As a Radford semele born and bread naturally I look to raise my family in the village due to its quiet secure nature allowing children to play outdoors and feel safe and secure as did I when I was a child growing up here. I have no doubt in my mind that if the travelling community is allowed to site on our door step this will drastically change the nature of this village and I don't see why I should have to relocate to accommodate what is essentially a travelling family by choice.

In regards to business and local authorities can you please explain to us how you can justify siteing these people outside our village and claiming it to be a peaceful and beneficial thing for the community, Yet when the horse fair was on in Kenilworth and also the Warwick MOP on both occasions police and local councils issued a letter of recommendation to the local business to close down for the period that they were in town due to the previous years damage rate. This therefore surely highlights the opposite of benefiting the community as was stated in the criteria from the council.
It has already been made clear that this site will have an adverse effect on businesses in the local community when they Warwick exhibition centre who is situated directly opposite and is a large importance in the area has already claimed a loss of business due to the announcement of this proposed site.
People in this village pay a higher premium for property and services to have a high quality of living to have the benefit of the town but the feeling of countryside this introduction of a travelling site is going to have a detrimental effect on the image of this area and as a result will have a decrease of people wishing to move to this area. The knock on effect of this could resort in people in the village losing a large amount of money as well as the true reasons as to why they live in this area.
This is not acceptable.

I trust the council have considered adjusting the levels of tax accordingly if these plans go ahead as it will no longer be a desirable area.
As you can see from the above points an alternative location needs to be found for the gypsy and travellers site as this site on the outskirts of Radford Semele, Harbury, and Ufton will have to much of a detrimental effect on the community and one of the other three I might add are yet to be named need to be seriously considered.