Travellers' site choice for 'Bridge challenged
COUNCIL chiefs behind plans to build a gipsy and travellers' site in Sutton Bridge will be forced to review their decision after it was called-in by two councillors.
South Holland Council earmarked land off Centenary Way, on the Norfolk side of the river, in Wingland for a temporary stopping place – which will be much closer to Lynn than the authority's HQ in Spalding.
The site was selected alongside two permanent sites at Spalding and Holbeach from a shortlist of eight following a three-week consultation period in November. The decision caused anger among residents, the parish council and local businesses, who raised a number of objections.
Now, in the latest string of setbacks, Sutton Bridge councillors Michael Booth and Chris Brewis have called-in the decision and the council's performance monitoring panel have requested the site be looked at again.
The news represents a significant step backwards for the authority which, after a number of false starts, was due to begin applying for planning permission for the development.
There are widespread concerns the proposed stopping place will put a strain on local services, have a negative impact on industry and, being on the Norfolk border, will prove difficult to maintain so far from the district council's base in Spalding.
Mr Brewis and Mr Booth, both independent, have outlined a number of concerns about the site's suitability and the way in which it was chosen, believing the council has not followed its own criteria during the selection process or taken notice of public opinion.
Among their concerns are the proposed site's potential affect on the local economy, its close proximity to other homes and lack of public transport. It has also been alleged the site had been pre-determined before the council's formal decision in November.
The Sutton Bridge stopping place will now be reconsidered at a special cabinet meeting on Friday where members must take into account all the issues raised.
A second call-in notice has been received from three other councillors regarding plans for the permanent site west of Holbeach, off the A151, and this decision is also set to be re-examined at Friday's meeting.
The council was forced to abandon its previous selection process last January after its preferred sites in Sutton Bridge, Long Sutton and Weston met with widespread opposition. It received a flood of complaints from residents and parish councils who felt they were not properly consulted and district and Mr Brewis condemned the overall decision-making process "a total shambles".
Weston and Long Sutton were not included in the latest shortlist, meaning Sutton Bridge was the only previously abandoned location to reappear, although at a different site in the town.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for King's Lynn
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 26 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North
