READING Borough Council is set to consider a planning application for a dedicated site for travellers next week.
On Wednesday, October 5, a proposal for the building of a permanent provision of space on land near Smallmead for travellers will be considered by the committee.
National guidance is that each local planning authority should seek to provide space for Gypsy and traveller communities to live.
The proposal would see a narrow strip of land near Smallmead, close to the Re3 Recycling Centre, accommodating up to seven pitches, which is space for up to 14 caravans.
The site would be provided with electricity, sanitary facilities, secure fencing, and a recreational facility, along with the provision of a Traveller liaison officer to manage the site on a day-to-day basis.
It will be offered for temporary periods ranging from a few days up to three months at a time.
The proposal follows an assessment by Reading Borough Council in 2017 which ruled that it was necessary to provide a permanent site to combat illegal encampments.
It also follows a number of recent illegal encampments around Reading, including on the University of Reading’s Whiteknights campus.
Despite considering more than 80 separate sites the assessment met considerable opposition to proposals, with more than 160 objections raised against a proposed site near Cow Lane.
Many cited adverse effects on local businesses and trading, anti-social behaviour, and fly-tipping as reasons for objecting, as well as the safety of those using the site.
The latest proposals have seen a new location selected from the possible options laid out in the assessment.
The council has said that the move is intended to help it reduce council spending, as it regularly combats illegal encampments around Reading.
A council report released in October 2021 detailed 31 unauthorised encampments in the previous 12 months, with an estimated £400,000 spent over the previous five years.
In the report, the council noted that under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, police have powers to seize the vehicles of those who refuse to leave land, but only if a suitable pitch is available within a local area.
As there is no such location in Reading, Thames Valley Police is limited in how it can respond to illegal encampments.
Some objections have been raised with the current proposals, with the council due to consider concerns about proximity to the AWE site in Burghfield and the status of the site as a floodplain.
The committee will need to provide suitable safety precautions in the event of flooding and adequate protection of the site’s users in a detailed “emergency” plan.
In the October 2021 report, Adele Barnett Ward, Lead Councillor for Neighbourhoods, said: “Every single local Council is obliged under national planning policy to consider how Gypsy and traveller accommodation needs can be met.
“The proposal of the site at Smallmead is the culmination of a number of assessments, over a number of years.
“Identifying a suitable option in a tight, urban area like Reading is of course no easy task, but the site at Smallmead is one identified as feasible, not least because it is located away from residential properties.”
The planning application will be considered as part of the public committee meeting on Wednesday, October 5, from 6.30pm at Reading’s Civic Offices in Bridge Street.
You can also attend digitally via Teams by visiting: democracy.reading.gov.uk.
The full planning application can be viewed also be viewed at democracy.reading.gov.uk.
