The Department for Communities and Local Government and East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) found that the East of England needed 1,220 more caravan pitches for Gypsies and Travellers by 2011 and that the shortage of sites had contributed to the problem of unauthorized caravan pitches. Various options had been suggested and put up for consultation. The results of the consultation were considered at its meeting on 27th September 2007. The St Albans District already accommodates 25% of the pitches in Hertfordshire and they considered that they were been asked to take more than their fair share of pitches (an extra 173).
Despite their objections an area off Whitehorse Lane, London Colney was identified by St Albans Council as one of the preferred locations to accommodate these extra pitches. Four where identified in London Colney. This proposal was vigorously rejected by the London Colney Parish Council since this would of encroached onto Green Belt land and urged St Albans Council to disregard these sites in future consultations. The Parish Council organized a petition containing over 2000 signatures from residents in the village to support these objections. which was presented the the St Albans District Council on 12th September. To highlight these objections the Parish Council with the Gypsy Site Action Group lobbied the council to emphasis the depth of feeling against these proposals.
Recently EERAgoAGAIN a district wide organisation which campaigns against the development of more sites in the St Albans reported on the 3rd October that the Hertfordshire County Council has withdrawn applications for new sites in the St Albans area.
We wait for further developments.
Thousands fight traveller sites from The St Albans Review by Sally-Anne Johnson
VILLAGERS from London Colney angry at proposals for more traveller sites will present a petition of more than 2,000 signatures to St Albans District Council tonight.
People who have signed the petition are concerned at proposals for an extra 34 pitches in the district, double the allocation for any other district in Hertfordshire. St Albans already has the highest number of pitches in the county and London Colney residents are outraged that a report carried out for the district council suggested two Green Belt fields in the village were among the best places for new pitches to be sited.
The signatories say they object to the proposals to site pitches in London Colney, to the public consultation method employed by the East of England Regional Assembly, and to the number of pitches allocated to St Albans district.
The petition also calls for the London Colney sites to be disregarded by the district council in any future consultation document.
A coach has been laid on by London Colney Parish Council to take protestors to St Albans for tonight's meeting.
Parish council chairman Malcolm MacMillan said: "The people of the village have joined forces with the parish council to make known their views. We know that St Albans councillors are against further sites, but at the same time they are proposing to identify further sites."
Campaign group EeraGoAgain, which was set up in response to the EERA public consultation, will also be attending the meeting. One of the group's leaders, Martin Myland, said he was currently pressing the district council to provide funds for a legal challenge to the consultation, which EeraGoAgain says was difficult for residents to respond to.
St Albans MP Anne Main said she had received assurances from the district council that compulsory purchase powers would not be used to secure land for new gipsy and traveller sites and that planning portfolio holder Councillor Chris Brazier was committed to fighting sites in London Colney. She said: "I will continue to fight any additional sites being dictated to us by EERA, which is still conducting a review into this matter. We can't have sites imposed on us by the back door. I believe that St Albans already fulfils its duty to accommodate gipsies and travellers."
