Six public exhibitions are being held over the coming weeks to allow the public to find out more about potential site options and planning policies for Gypsy and Traveller pitches in South Cambridgeshire.
The exhibitions are part of a 13-week consultation by South Cambridgeshire District Council that started on Friday 10 July, and runs until 12 noon on Friday 9 October 2009.
The East of England Plan, drawn up by the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA), requires at least 88 new permanent pitches in South Cambridgeshire by 2021. Provision is also being considered for Travelling Showpeople and for transit sites. SCDC is now making plans for where those sites might be placed. Twenty potential sites have been identified and tested using criteria agreed after consultation in 2006.
The twenty sites include three in Chesterton Fen Road (part if which lies in the civil parish of Milton). In addition there is a proposal to change the Blackwell site (next to the A14 just west of Milton and also in the civil parish) from a permanent residential site to a transit site. As this is the only additional transit site currently identified it must be a likely outcome.
SCDC officers will be on hand at the exhibitions to talk people through the consultation process in more detail. Exhibitions will run from 1pm to 8pm on:
- Monday 20 July – Willingham Ploughman Hall, West Fen Road, Willingham
- Wednesday 22 July – Cottenham Village College (Common Room), High Street, Cottenham
- Friday 24 July – The Limes Communal Room, High Street, Bassingbourn
- Monday 27 July – Fulbourn United Reformed Church Hall, Home End, Fulbourn
- Wednesday 29 July – Girton Glebe Primary School, Cambridge Road, Girton
- Friday 31 July – Milton Community Centre, Coles Road, Milton
An exhibition will also take place at SCDC’s Cambourne offices throughout the consultation from 8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Wherever possible, SCDC asks that comments be made online. You can find a link to that here which also explains more of the background. The form can also be downloaded and emailed back to SCDC, or a paper form can be requested by calling 03450 450 500.
Comments that will be considered in the consultation are those that focus on planning issues such as infrastructure – including education and health, access, traffic and parking, noise, pollution, landscape impact, historic buildings, conservation and wildlife.
