Plans for temporary travellers site in Walsall submitted

Walsall Council has submitted the planning application to provide a transit site in the Pleck area to support the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community.

The proposed site location, at the junction of Pleck Road and Darlaston Road, is council-owned and currently unused.

The council will be writing to residents who live near to the site to explain the proposals and how to contribute to the planning consultation. The plans are expected to be considered by the authority's planning committee in the summer.

Councillor Adrian Andrew, deputy leader of Walsall Council, said: “Access to quality homes - in whatever form they take, is a key element of any thriving and sustainable community.

"The proposed site would therefore benefit those already settled, as well as support those from the wider Traveller communities alike.”

“It is a good opportunity to improve the services we offer to the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and to also deal with any issues associated with unauthorised encampments more effectively.

"If the development of a temporary transit site goes ahead, it presents the opportunity to create better outcomes for all communities in the borough of Walsall.”

“There has been considerable local interest in the proposal and in response, we will be going above and beyond to ensure that local residents and the wider community have the opportunity to fully understand the detail and contribute to the planning consultation.”

Walsall Council's cabinet have already backed the proposals – but hundreds of local residents have signed a petition against the scheme.

While Valerie Vaz MP wrote to council chief executive Helen Paterson asking why sites in Willenhall Lane, Foster Street in Blakenall and Dolphin Close in Goscote have not been chosen despite being approved in the 2019 Walsall Site Allocation Document.