Bohemia Village Voice

Proposed site foir travellers at Summerfields.

It has probably not escaped your notice that Hastings Council is currently trying to rush through proposals for a transit site in Hastings for Gypsies and Travellers. A number of meetings have taken place recently in each of the three locations in Hastings and St Leonards at which a site could be provided. One of the proposed sites is on the green area between the ambulance station and Summerfields Leisure Centre. At the meeting attended by the Bohemia Village Voice, held at Horntye Park Sports Complex on 23rd January, two separate presentations on the issue were made.
  The first, given by Jake Bowers, a Romany journalist who lives in the Hastings area, outlined the history of Gypsy communities in the UK, and in the process sought to dispel what he claimed were a number of derogatory myths about his people. In particular, Mr Bowers refuted claims that Gypsies and Travellers are dirtier and more prone to crime than the settled population. He said that he had become a journalist specifically to counter what he regarded as press propaganda against his community, describing prejudice directed at Gypsies as the ‘last acceptable form of racism’.
  Martin Jenks, Parks and Open Spaces Manager for Hastings Borough Council, outlined the need for a dedicated transit site in Hastings to accommodate the influx of Travellers, particularly in the summer months, who come to the town to find work or to have a holiday. Currently, with no specific site set aside for Travellers, the council is forced, every year, to deal with a number of illegal encampments at various locations around the town. The current proposal, Mr Jenks claimed, is intended to alleviate this problem for both the council officers and the residents affected by these illegal camps, and also for the Traveller community. ‘Our objective’, he said, ‘is to deal with illegal encampments in a more positive way.’ Mr Jenks also admitted that the government grant available to pay for the work was a great incentive, as such a site was needed anyway, and the burden of paying for it would otherwise fall upon council-tax payers.
 The Summerfields site is one of three possible locations out of a much larger number that were originally considered. The three remaining potential sites were the only ones that met all the criteria, were not privately owned and were currently undeveloped, Mr Jenks said. The Summerfields site is slightly smaller than the other two, and would accommodate up to seven pitches (a pitch is one caravan and two cars), the minimum requirement for such a site. Each pitch would pay rent and would be allowed to remain at the site for a maximum of 28 days.
  In the question-and-answer session that followed these presentations, the strength of opposition from local Bohemia residents, businesspeople and community leaders was clearly voiced. The main concerns raised at the meeting were:
  1) Having an authorised site will be a magnet that draws Travellers to Hastings, especially in the absence of similar sites being provided by East Sussex County Council, Rother Council and various other borough authorities. The Summerfields site provides for seven pitches, but it could easily be oversubscribed, thereby creating further problems of illegal encampments within the town.
  2) Health provision in this part of the town is already stretched to cope with the needs of the many socially disadvantaged people who live in  the area. The influx of Travellers would place a further burden on already strained resources.
  3) Access to the site would probably have to be through Summerfields car park, which is often fully occupied. The arrival of Traveller vehicles trying to negotiate their way around the car park to access the transit-site entrance could be a traffic headache and even a road-safety hazard for people, especially children, visiting the leisure centre.
  4) The provision of a transit site is being promoted based on the availability of government money to pay for adapting the site for that purpose. A far more sensible solution would be to choose a larger site, to accommodate both a site for a permanent, residential encampment and a transit site. The presence of a permanent community will act as a restraining influence on any visitors to the transit site who are disinclined to act and live responsibly. Travellers themselves favour this two-tiered solution. In this regard, the Summerfields site is the least suitable of the three (being by far the smallest), and could not be expanded in the future when the time comes to create a permanent, residential encampment.
  5) The green area proposed for development is a valuable local resource, especially in summer, when families and visitors to the town play games and have picnics there.
  Following the consultation period, a site will be chosen in mid to late February, and a grant application submitted at the end of the month. If that is successful, a planning application will then be submitted some time in March or April. Planning permission secured, a site would be created in late 2007 or early 2008. [JB]