FORMER Mayor of Warrington Geoff Settle says he finds it hard to believe that a decision to identify the first short stay Gypsy and Traveller’s Transit Site has taken so long.
Geoff was was a member of the first task party set up over a decade ago to find a suitable site.
Geoff said: “Obviously where the sites will be located is a difficult and controversial decision. The Kenyon Lane Nurseries was not available 10 years ago, but I believe would have been ranked above those chosen back then. I know the site; it is a very quiet location, just within the Warrington Borough boundary with Wigan by just over 100 meters.
“The site entrance has good access that can easily be widened. The necessary amenities are on tap it can easily accommodate the number of pitches required.
“I used to go there for plants until the nearby competition from Bents Garden and Homes and Newbank Garden Centre became too much for its owners. It was on my long-distance route when I was training for marathons. A glance at the map will show there are only a couple of farms and houses nearby, but shops, schools and doctors are a short drive away.”
He says that the inactivity during the last decade in failing to create a new site has cost the taxpayer £1.5 million to clear up and manage the 70 unauthorised encampments due to the costs of welfare checks, legal fees and clearing up after their departure.
He said: “I’ve lost count of the number of illegal encampments that have been set up in my ward of Poulton North. A two-birth pitch site was at the end of my close off Enfield Park Road. I have notified WBC on numerous occasions about the five favourite sites that have been reoccupied over the years. I remember a nearby playing field where the police had to be called to protect and escort the numerous travellers and their vans to the M6 for their own safety. Poulton North has become a place littered with massive concrete blocks and barriers to stop vehicles gaining access, just like the barriers at Silver Lane in Croft where they are very frequent visitors after they have angle grinded the barrier open.”
Geoff Settle when he was Mayor
He said, “Back then councillors weren’t media savvy so there was little disinformation being spread through the press and social media but that’s all changed now.”
In 2022 the previous Government’s Conservative Communities Minister, Kemi Badenoch, said: “It’s vital that everyone has access to the kind of services that offer the best support. So, these new and improved sites will give travellers easier routes to healthcare, education, and employment. This funding is just one of the ways the government is improving opportunities for communities across the country.”
Councillor Mathews said last month that “neighbouring boroughs have provision for tavellers as part of local authorities’ legal obligations” and it “reduces the impact of unauthorised encampments.” A risk assessment from 2018, found Warrington Borough Council needed between five and 10 pitches in Warrington for those in transit.”
Geoff continued: “When I was on the G&T task party we were briefed by an expert about the gypsy and traveller community and the need for such a site. We were shown around the well-run Halton site by the man who managed the site and collected the rent.
“We were told that Warrington must follow suit to meet its legal obligations otherwise there would be a high cost to move on the travellers from each illegal site and they would continue to return. I wonder how much of the Capital Programme Allocation of £2 million remains.
“Following the announcement of the planned new Croft Motorway Service Station at end of Silver Lane and junction 11 M62. Could that be a possible location for a new Gypsy and Travellers site?”
He said: “As Chair of the Warrington Nature Conservation Forum I want to see Silver Lane Lakes thrive as a Nature Reserve. It is a place that I have recently revisited after 20 years. It’s amazing to see how it has successfully matured. Nature has taken over the capped man-made waste hills and valleys with a growing young forest, water pools that look like lakes and there is a rich variety of wildlife.
“The town emerged well in the Millets’ Wildlife Conservation Survey last month. Wildlife Conservation Hotspots: The UK’s best spots for Wildlife Conservation | Millets
“Instead of WBC and councillors shelling taxpayers’ money on unauthorised G&T sites, I would rather they spend our money on things that will benefit Warrington people’s health and wellbeing through nature conservation.”
Warrington Borough Council was given an opportunity to provide a response.
7 Comments
Thanks Garry, For supporting me in notifying WBC about the encampments in Poulton North, I’m sure that you will give coverage of the encampment taking place this week at Stretton and Bents Home and Gardens. Warrington is a place now where these encampments are taking place. It could be because of the work opportunities in and around the Town.
Anyone can report an illegal encampment on WBC website which will also provide updates . The Police Crime , Sentencing and Courts Act amended in 2022 also gives Police the powers to evict immediately regardless of numbers on the basis there would only need to be the “likelihood” of disturbance to local residents , damage etc whether on Private or Public land . Something that does not appear to be enforced . Kenyon Lane was not an option due to Kenyon Lane part of the access road being owned privately which if WBC had properly assessed would have been known before going ahead and wasting 25K on public money , Hence the proposal never went ahead and would never have gone ahead . Silver Lane which has suffered illegal encampments over 20 yrs has a WBC Prohibition Order re: access and this has been in place since 2015 . Also the new M62 Jct 11 services and the land it is being built on is owned by BIFFA who also have approved plans to build a large Solar Farm on the land they also own which is the old landfill site . The old Burtonwood Services which will be replaced by the M62 Jct 11 services may be suitable ? Or when the proposed 6/56 Services in Lymm is resolved after Langtrees appeal is resolved may also be considered a viable option ? Hopefully WBC Planning Dept will thoroughly assess any proposed sites before committing anymore public money on sites that are not viable . Warrington Worldwide have always been quick to report any illegal encampments and Hve been very supportive of affected residents
Thanks Northern Star useful information – I was aware of some from an ecologist colleague who told me about the two service stations but I didn’t know about the proposed Solar Farm on the Biffa Landfill. Perhaps after research Solar Farms might be useful on the many other capped landfill sites that proliferate the borough. I remember being on the solar committee when I first became a councillor that the finance director’s analysis of solar panels on social housing showed that they were generating power even on cloudy days and feeding the grid and therefore earning the borough income. I haven’t been down the private road but am I right in thinking that that it leads to some form of warehousing. If an agreement had existed with the Nursery for access then why couldn’t a revised agreement have been worked out? There do seem to be gaps in the investigation of land ownership. Did WBC purchase the land regardless?
WBC spent £10,000 installing a gate on Silver Lane supposedly to stop Travellers setting up their ad hoc camps on the road. Despite the gate Silver Lane continued to be used as an ad hoc site, each time the lock was forced open to gain access.
I remember John Thorp (Rights of Way Officer) designing a gate to stop the scrambler bikes getting on the footpaths where I was a path warden at Woolston Weir. They looked to be very good. However the riders forced them and continued to ride straight at the people using them. These machines come at you at speed and there is only one things to do – jump out of the way.
There must be a way of preventing access.
As much as we need a site for travellers, Silver Lane is not the answer, it is bad enough that the MSA is to be built on part of it but as a designated Local Wildlife Site (LWS), a designation granted by Cheshire Wildlife Trust in 2011 after I lobbied them with wildlife data from the the previous 10 years of monitoring the site. Since then and following sympathetic restoration by Biffa, the site has matured into becoming an important wildlife asset within the borough and is well used by local people. Sadly a good deal of the most productive habitat will be lost to the MSA and solar farm project so what will be left needs as much protection as possible to prevent further degradation of the green belt and impact on local wildlife!
I’ve only just come across Silver Lane and it is as Rob says a great Wildlife Site and it’s people like Rob who WBC should be turning to for his help, advice and recommendation as someone with a lifetime of local and regional experience. We have people like him who have great expertise and they live in the borough.