Published: March 8, 2008
Council awarded £213,000 to refurbish gypsy site near Burnham

A grant for £213,138 has been awarded to Sedgemoor District Council to help it fund the refurbishment of a gypsy and travellers site at Rooksbridge, near Burnham-On-Sea.

Sedgemoor District Council was told on Friday (March 7th) that its bid to the Department of Communities and Local Government for monies from the Gypsy and Traveller Site Grant had been successful.

A community solution to an 18 year-old issue of the unauthorised Gypsy site at the Paddocks, Rooksbridge has been found between Sedgemoor District Council, residents of Rooksbridge and the gypsy families concerned.

Councillor Duncan McGinty, Leader of Sedgemoor District Council, pictured, said on Friday evening: "This award supports this councils' decision to resolve the challenging long-term situation at Rooksbridge. By meeting the criteria for this grant, Sedgemoor had demonstrated that it is meeting its obligations under the Housing Act 2004."

Communities Minister Iain Wright added: "It is important that councils ensure there are enough authorised sites for the gypsy and traveller communities. A good supply of legal sites can break the vicious cycle of evictions that is costly in terms of both local tensions and taxpayers' cash."

A report that went to a full council meeting of Sedgemoor District Council in August 2007 explained that the Council has, for many years, been seeking to acquire and clear land by a compulsory purchase order at The Paddocks, Rooksbridge that was at one time occupied by up to eighteen families of Gypsies and Travellers without planning permission. The site was also untidy and an eye-sore from the motorway and for the nearby residents.

The compromise solution provides a permanent site for the two remaining families and a large area of open space is provided for the 164 residents of Rooksbridge. The designating of this area will be included in the number of sites, dictated by national Government, for Gypsies and Travellers in Sedgemoor.

The Council agreed to allocate £600,000 of capital funding for the completion of these works, the compensation payable to previous owners and the management of the construction project.

The open space work portion of the capital sum approved is approximately a quarter of the construction costs.