Issue - meetings

Report of the Director of Built Environment

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Built Environment on proposals to utilise funding from the Homes and Communities Agency to refurbish existing pitches and to provide new pitches within the existing Gypsy and Traveller site at Red Rose Park, Broad Lane, Formby.

This was a Key Decision and was included in the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

Decisions Made:

(1)       the grant offer of £308,020 made under the Homes and Communities Agency’s Gypsy and Traveller Fund be accepted to refurbish the existing pitches and provide four new pitches within the existing site boundary;

(2)       the Director of Built Environment be authorised to invite tenders for a contractor to carry out the works at Red Rose Park as set out in the report, subject to  the necessary planning permission being granted for the works;

(3)       the Director of Built Environment be authorised to secure “Investment Partner” status with the Homes and Communities Agency; and

(4)       the Council be recommended to give approval to the inclusion of the total scheme cost of £323,020 within the Capital Programme in 2013/14 to be funded by grant (£308,020) and a revenue contribution of £15,000, as set out in the report.

Reasons for Decision:

The project to refurbish the existing pitches and provide new pitches at the site is currently not part of the approved Capital Programme.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

The offer of grant could be rejected, and as there is no allocated funding for the purpose, the existing pitches could not be upgraded and no additional capacity can be added to the site. The condition of the existing accommodation is particularly poor and without improvements necessary to address these issues a question would be raised about whether the Council wished to continue providing sub-standard accommodation of this sort. The closure of Red Rose Park would likely to result in an increase in illegal encampments in the borough and leave 16 families without accommodation, most of who have resided at the site for many years.