Anger over proposed travellers site in Walsall

A decision by Walsall Council cabinet to create a facility for the gypsy, Roma and traveller (GRT) community in the borough on authority owned land in Pleck has been called in for a scrutiny meeting on Monday.

Labour ward councillors and Walsall South MP Valerie Vaz, said residents in the area were not consulted on the plans and fear the site could add to issues already suffered in the area such as crime and anti-social behaviour.

They also said the proposed location, on the corner of Pleck Road and Darlaston Road, was inappropriate and would put extra strain on services such as GP practices and schools.

The authority was also accused of making a ‘political decision’ by placing it in a Labour dominated constituency when sites had previously been identified elsewhere in the borough.

When the decision was made at a cabinet meeting on February 10, members said the site was chosen because of its proximity to transport, education and medical facilities.

They also said it would help the authority tackle the minority of ‘renegade’ travellers who wreaked havoc across the borough following a series of excursions last summer.

But in the wake of that, Pleck councillor Naheed Gultasib started an online petition which has attracted more than 600 signatures.

The petition states: “The Pleck Ward is a ward that is already one of the most deprived wards in Walsall and has high levels of crime, ASB, littering and fly-tipping.

“The introduction of a transit site can only add to the challenges faced by the community of Pleck.”

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.

Walsall Labour group leader Aftab Nawaz said: “I’m a big supporter of the GRT community and everyone deserves to have their rights respected.

“There is no discrimination but this decision has created a lot of anxiety and anger at the way it has been done.

“There has been no level of communication or consultation and the community feels it’s being imposed on them.

Jams

“And there is a view being expressed that the area has been chosen because of its diverse ethnic background.

“It also feels as if this is a big political decision to put the site in the middle of a Labour voting ward and constituency which has the only Labour MP in the borough.

“This was not listed in the site allocation document and most of the incursions last summer were in Walsall North and Aldridge-Brownhills.

“I don’t think there has been a full consideration of all the aspects of this location.

“This will be by a busy road which gets traffic jams regularly with cars belting out fumes and we are asking the GRT community to go there?

“The local services – doctors, schools – are already struggling and there is disadvantage there already. How are we going to meet the needs of GRT people in the doctors or school when it is already full and struggling?

“Residents are disgusted that no-one has spoken to them. But this isn’t just about the local community, it’s about the GRT community as well.

“It is unfair on them to be put in a place where the locals feel it has been imposed on them.”

Walsall Council deputy leader Adrian Andrew said: “Whilst Cabinet has identified a preferred location for a transit site in Walsall, no planning application has so far been put forward.

“The proposal is one that will be subject to a planning application at a future meeting of the committee.”

“Ahead of the pending scrutiny committee it would therefore be inappropriate to comment further about the site at this time.

“The scrutiny committee is the correct democratic forum whereby questions from elected members can be raised, recorded and responded to in an appropriate manner.”