A council’s plan for a temporary two-year Traveller site on a Derbyshire railway station car park is set for approval.
The plan, from Derbyshire Dales District Council, would see a specific homeless Traveller family accommodated in the Matlock railway station car park in Derwent Way for a maximum of two years.
This follows a December council decision to earmark four different sites for temporary use: Matlock railway station, the Old Station Close car park in Rowsley, the Matlock Bath railway station coach park and land to the north-west of Middleton by Wirksworth cemetery.
The allocations of these temporary sites were to act as a stop-gap until permanent sites can be identified and developed, with the council now looking to spend up to £200,000 buying land for this purpose at auction.
In March the council submitted planning applications for Matlock railway station and Rowsley sites.
The Matlock site is already in use and has been in use for many years for the specific Traveller family which the council has a legal responsibility for.
If approved, the Matlock plot would have space for four caravans and six parking spaces.
It would be surrounded by fencing with an acoustic lining and have temporary utility and amenity blocks.
Derbyshire County Council’s strategic planning officials have objected to the plan saying: “Whilst the county council accepts there is an evidenced need for new Traveller site provision within the district, as set out in the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment, it is considered that in planning and land use terms, the application site is in a wholly unsuitable location for such use.”
RRR Consultancy, on behalf of all Derbyshire councils, identified last year that there are 141 Traveller sites in the county as a whole (including Derby), but 130 more are needed by 2040.
It found that the Dales had four pitches currently and needs a further 11 by 2040 – all of which would be permanent, not temporary or “temporarily tolerated” as the Dales has attributed many plots previously.
The Gypsy liaison officer for Derbyshire, Siobhan Spencer, has detailed: “The family are willing to reside at Rowsley for the summer again and to reiterate that they would prefer a site in the south of Derbyshire Dales.
“The family on the Matlock train station car park also confirm with me that they are happy for the application to go ahead.”
The family on the Rowsley site, who identify as Romani Gypsy, are also registered homeless and are the legal responsibility of the council.
Two objection letters have been submitted by members of the public in response to the Matlock site. The letters express concerns about the plot being an “eyesore,” security and behaviour fears, and suspicion that the site may become permanent.
District council officers, recommending approval, wrote: “The proposed development will provide the continuation for two years of four traveller pitches and associated facilities in a very sustainable location.
“This will continue to provide traveller pitches helping to meet an identified need and provide opportunities to identify and confirm suitable permanent sites for the purposes of the review of the Local Plan.
“The proposal is considered on balance to be acceptable and will allow for review given its temporary nature.”
They also detail: “Officers would argue that the location caters to many of the needs of the Travellers and that in terms of balance this outweighs the disadvantages of the site especially given the temporary nature of the proposal and the consequence of lack of provision through discontinuing this use.”
