1:50pm Wednesday 15th April 2009
By Jon Austin
BASILDON Council leader Malcolm Buckley has admitted the district will eventually have to provide more traveller pitches.
The council is currently resisting Government recommendations for it to identify land for 62 more legal pitches by 2011, on top of the 106 already in the district.
As part of an ongoing public consultation it argues neighbouring authorities with few or no pitches should provide more.
Mr Buckley says the authority will even take legal action if it is forced to provide the 62 pitches.
However, he has conceded to the Echo there will come a time when Basildon will need to provide a small amount of new pitches to cater for “natural growth” among the traveller community.
He said: “As part of planning for new housing provision, we also have to take into account future gipsy and traveller site provision.
“There are of course many families in the district living on legal sites and there will come a time when we will have to provide more provision to allow for natural growth.”
Mr Buckley said the admission did not mean there was any chance of either of the controversial illegal sites at Dale Farm, Crays Hill, or Hovefields, Wickford, being allowed to stay put.
He said: “This is nothing to do with illegal sites. These have been through the full planning process and been found to be inappropriate development.
“When we are able to, they will be cleared.”
He said the council would be prepared to compromise if the level of site provision required by the Government was significantly reduced.
But Mr Buckley would not say by how much amount would need to fall for this to happen.
He added: “It would need to drop considerably, with other districts making up the numbers.”
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