RESIDENTS have said a resounding ‘no’ to calls for a fixed Traveller site in Ellesmere Port.
Last week, we told how the borough council has drawn up a shortlist of potential sites for a temporary facility for 10 caravans, with running water, electricity and waste disposal.
Council deputy leader Mark Henesy declined to name possible locations but said they were ‘borough-wide’.
The authority’s preferred option will be presented to the resources committee in October. The scheme will then have to be approved by the full council and could be open by the end of this year.
But Pioneer readers have deluged us with calls and letters protesting about the proposal. To date, not one person has supported the council’s position.
One resident, who has lived in town for 65 years, said: ‘How can the Port have survived all these years without an official site? The answer is perfectly well, thank you.
‘Why should Travellers be provided with a site? It is we who would be paying for it.’
Resident Peter Hattam said: ‘To make a decision on the area before letting us have our say would be unwise, as to present a fait accompli could lead to serious repercussions for the local councillors concerned in remaining in office.
‘Why don’t they announce the proposed sites now so that proper debate can take place beforehand – or is this not valued or required?’
One correspondent claimed that no matter what the people say, the council will just ‘go ahead with it regardless’.
And another said the Port should be ‘locked down’ until Travellers realise they are ‘not wanted’.
Meanwhile, Travellers moved on to the football pitches on Thornton Road, Stanney, on Thursday.
Cheshire police used powers under the Public Order Act to order them to leave by Friday, which they did, but by Monday night there was another encampment in Whitby Park.
A borough council spokeswoman said staff were assessing the camp of 19 caravans and were seeking a notice through the courts for trespass. Police have also been informed.
