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MP calls parishes traveller summit
MORE than 70 people from villages across north Beds discussed their concerns over traveller and Gypsy provision in the area at the weekend.
The meeting, chaired by North East Bedfordshire MP Alistair Burt, included members of 26 rural parish councils as well as residents’ associations.
And Mr Burt claimed that the majority felt Bedford Borough Council needed to take a proactive approach.
He said: “North Bedfordshire seems to have highlighted the very reasons for the need to re-balance the law, with a number of inappropriate sites and retrospective planning applications, which are of little use to travellers or residents alike.
“The uncertainty in the area has taken a real toll, as many made clear.
“I will be meeting Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles to take to him points raised at the meeting and to discuss how quickly the changes the government has introduced can take effect.
“I full support north Bedfordshire councillors’ efforts to urge Bedford Borough Council to find alternative and better new sites, which are currently over-represented in the rural Bedford area.”
Mr Burt pointed to several issues with the current provision for traveller sites, including the increasing number that are in open countryside. He claimed that these pitches then have inadequate access to shops, doctors, schools or employment.
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Weather for Bedford
Monday 28 May 2012
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Temperature: 12 C to 25 C
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