INDEPENDENT Cllr. Neil Johnson says he is “extremely disappointed” with his former Labour colleagues after Warrington Borough Council’s Cabinet decided to proceed with the purchase of land in Croft for a gypsy traveller site.
The decision to proceed with the purchase of the former Kenyon Lane nurseries for a gypsy traveller site was made at last night’s (14th October) Cabinet meeting.
Cllr Johnson had earlier announced his resignation from the Labour party after leaking details about the proposal.
Neil said: “I am extremely disappointed in my former party for voting to proceed with the purchase of land in Croft for a gypsy traveller site.
“This is the wrong decision and is goes completely against the wishes of the people who live in my ward of Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft.
“Despite what Labour’s keyboard warriors have tried to imply, I am not opposed to a transit site, but it must be built in a suitable location. Kenyon Lane is not suitable. There must also be a plan in place to deal with the impact on local schools and services, as well as regular litter cleaning and proper maintenance of the environment when the site is opened. Warrington Borough Council does not have a plan for any of these things in the case of Kenyon Lane.
“I am even more disappointed that a Labour parish councillor issued a statement yesterday on behalf of Borough Councillors Matt Smith and Janet Seddon, to inform the residents that the purchase of the site would not be going ahead.
Just a few hours later, the opposite happened. That statement then had to be deleted and an apology issued. This is incompetent and embarrassing. Residents were given false hope.
“I will be returning to the issue of Cllr Bower’s statement soon because I believe there are questions to be answered.
“Sadly, my fellow ward councillors Matt Smith and Janet Seddon have not made any public statement on this issue to date. We do not know what their views are. Residents are being left with uncertainty. This is especially difficult for people who are trying to buy and sell houses in our village.
“My position is simple. I oppose a gypsy traveller site being located in Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft. I will now support the community in fighting this plan, and I call on my fellow ward councillors and local MP Charlotte Nichols to join me. Alongside local residents, I will be collecting as much support as possible, contacting the landowner and doing all we can to stop the sale.
“Above all, I will be an independent voice for the people of Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft on the side of my residents.”
After initially posting that the traveller site was not going ahead Cllr Bower retracted the statement and issued the following one saying: “This morning (Monday), a Council officer informed one of the Borough Councillors that WBC could not proceed with the purchase, that the report was being withdrawn from this evening’s Cabinet meeting and that we could share this information with residents.
“I did this in good faith, but there was some reconsideration during the day, leading to that decision being reversed.
“I would never share any such decision without permission and authorisation from WBC.”
3 Comments
We trust you Neil. Fingers crossed with enough backing we can get this sorted.
Mans a liar, he sat on the committee to select a new traveller site and saw his arse when it was in his area.
He should stand down and seek re-election, he was elected under a labour manifesto not as an independent.
I remember the late Cllr Billy Rylands making a similar stance back in the day this site has much more potential than the one the Billy was protesting about. He was successful and now years later I believe that it is going to be developed for the community in an educational way.