An eight-week public consultation on possible temporary Traveller sites at six Derbyshire Dales locations has started.
The consultation comprises this online survey and a series of public meetings to be held in the vicinity of the six possible sites.
The survey has been launched on this website, with the dates of the public meetings to follow.
No decisions have yet been made, but last night a special meeting of the District Council's Community & Environment Committee agreed on a majority vote to take forward en bloc six possible temporary sites proposed by a cross-party Gypsy and Traveller Working Group, to enable local people to have their say.
Agreed temporary sites are necessary until a permanent Traveller site is identified in the Derbyshire Dales. The strategy is that a selection of temporary sites - if any win Council approval after the consultation process - share the responsibility for limited periods of accommodating a Traveller family who have been encamped in a section of Matlock Bath Station car park for the past three years. This family is one of two to whom the Council owes a legal homelessness duty.
The proposed temporary sites are:
- Car Park, Old Station Close, Rowsley
- Land to south-east of Hopton Works, Middleton Road, Wirksworth
- Arc Leisure Car Parks, Morledge, Matlock
- Station Yard Car Park, Dale Road, Matlock Bath
- Car Park, Derwent Way, Matlock
- Land to north-west of Cemetery, New Road, Middleton
Twenty-five members of the public spoke for an hour and a half at the start of last night's meeting, all voicing their opposition to the proposed list. Their comments - and written representations to the meeting - will be taken into account in the consultation analysis.
Members of the public filled the Matlock Town Hall Council Chamber and also the adjoining Committee Room, into which the debate was relayed. The meeting was also broadcast live on the District Council's YouTube channel, where a video archive can be viewed again below.
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The second Traveller family to whom the Council owes a legal homelessness duty have been accommodated in a section of the District Council's Station car park in Matlock for the past four years. Last night's meeting agreed that a solid separation be established between the current Matlock Traveller site and the rest of the car park - preventing additional unauthorised caravans from entering the general parking area, which is a recurring issue.
The Matlock and Matlock Bath sites that are currently accommodating the two Traveller families are among the six going forward for public consultation.
Last night's meeting also agreed to the adoption of a new code of conduct for Travellers and caravan occupiers and noted an interim report from consultants commissioned to search for potential permanent Travellers sites in the Derbyshire Dales.
The Progressive Alliance leading Derbyshire Dales District Council pledged on its formation just over a year ago to finally tackle an issue previous administrations had struggled with for decades.
Councillor Marilyn Franks, Chair of the Council's Gypsy and Traveller Working Group, told last night's meeting:
"I would like to thank all the contributions from members of the public this evening. Certainly, I intend to listen to these very important residents' views.
"Everybody's aware that we have a legal duty to two families. It's less than 20 people we are talking about and I find it quite incredible that for many years we have not been able to resolve this problem as a District Council. We have this duty. It's a shared responsibility for everybody throughout the Dales. These are not families who are going to go away. They are local families as much as any other residents and we need to treat them as such and do the best for their accommodation.
"I was delighted to hear tonight a number of speakers raising the issue of why haven't we permanent site or sites and that this is the way forward. We should not be spending all our time focusing on and arguing about temporary sites. We do need to prioritise a permanent site."
