Council gets £500k to develop a site for travellers
GOVERNMENT AID FOR COUNCIL
MORE than £500,000 has been given to a council to develop a site for gypsies and travellers. Approval for four pitches at Old Bangor Road, Conwy, was given by Conwy council in April, and the Welsh Government has now granted £542,000 to develop it.
Each of the four plots, which will be side by side on a sloping embankment alongside the A55, could contain a static caravan, touring caravan, shed and two parking spaces. Every two plots would share a 12m long “amenity building” containing a kitchen/dining room, bathroom and a store.
A waste water treatment plant will be built, a 3m high acoustic screen fence placed on a wall, and a hedge planted at the end of Old Bangor Road.
The Welsh Government says local authorities must provide areas to house gypsies and travellers. Under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, local authorities have until February 25 next year to complete new Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessments.
They provide an accurate view of the need for permanent and transit gypsy and traveller sites across Wales.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “In their Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessments, Conwy County Borough Council found it needed a new residential site at Old Bangor Road. The Welsh Government awarded £542,000 from its Gypsy and Traveller Sites Capital Grant to develop the site.”
The council said the grant will be drawn at various stages and will be “predominantly spent on the construction work”. The council will soon be inviting tenders via the Sell2Wales website to do the technical and construction work at the site.
In November last year, some business owners said the site could damage custom, but councillors rejected their concerns.