Council’s proposed site for travellers unveiled

THE proposed site for a £2.3m gypsy and travellers site near Barry has been revealed.

Vale of Glamorgan Council wants to set up a new site with 20 pitches for caravans at a currently empty site in Hayeswood Road.

It comes after a study identified the need for a long-term site for 17 gypsy and travellers families currently occupying a site in Hayes Road, near to the proposed site, and two families at sites in Twyn yr Odyn and Llangan.

The proposed site, close to a number of homes along Hayes Road, was allocated for 55 new houses under the local development plan adopted by the council in June last year.

But now the council is in talks to buy the land from Welsh Government for the travellers’ site - which is expected to be funded mostly through grants from Cardiff Bay.

A council report says the travellers site would not undermine the housing needs in the area. The local development plan set out an ambition to build around 10,000 houses in the Vale of Glamorgan by 2026.

The report says: “The site is suitably located in close proximity to the range of services and facilities that are available in Sully and Barry, all of which could be accessed by walking, cycling or public transport close to the site.

“While the site is in close proximity to a number of residential properties at Hayes Road, at 1.8 hectares the site is significantly larger than the approximate 0.72 to 0.81 hectares required to accommodate the identified need and it is considered that any impact to the local settled community could be mitigated through appropriate site design, layout and management.”

The council has made numerous attempts to engage with the existing traveller community in Sully, but has so far been unable to, so the selection of the site has been done without significant input from future residents, the report says.

But the traveller communities will need to be contacted again throughout the delivery of the project, the council has said.

A full-time site manager would be needed to supervise the site, the cost of which would be covered through site fees.

But the council expects site fees may be insufficient in covering costs for the management, utilities and maintenance of the site.

The council’s cabinet will meet on Monday, September 17, to decide whether to move forward with the project - including finalising negotiations with Welsh Government to buy the land and to submit a planning application for the site.