Derbyshire villagers urged to have say on traveller site

Derbyshire Dales District Council plans to provide a family of travellers with a permanent home in Tansley – which has sparked concern in the village for many years.

The homeless family has moved between 24 camps over the past three years alone and the matter was discussed in a heated meeting last month.

Now Derbyshire Dales MP Sarah Dines has written to the council to list a series of concerns raised by residents about the proposed site on Knabhall Lane.

The Conservative MP said she was ‘pleased to have it confirmed’ that public participation during virtual council meetings will mean people can ‘directly to make their views known’.

In her letter to Derbyshire Dales District Council, the MP listed a number of concerns, including the site being ‘unsustainable’ and sited up a single track road which would not be gritted in winter.

Other residents have pointed out that Tansley has no shop, GP surgery, dentist or secondary schools – with all these facilities only available in Matlock.

There is also concern locally about the impact on a caravan site opposite, according to Ms Dines.

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She added: “I know that when the proposal goes to planning, residents will be able to make representations and I hope residents will use this opportunity to make their views known.”

In a reply to the MP, which she has also published on Facebook, the council said it had been trying to identify a site for a ‘considerable time’ and after last month’s meeting the Knabhall Lane location was agreed to be the most suitable.

The letter says: "Whilst the strongly held objections made by the residents of Tansley are noted, in due course there will be ample opportunity for these points to be made and considered as part of the appropriate decision making process.”

More than 400 people, including Ms Dines, lodged objections over sites, most in relation to a a coal yard in Clifton, near Ashbourne.

At the previous meeting, council leader Garry Purdy said: “The family are currently in my ward and may have to suffer for some time.

"They are being moved from pillar to post.”

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