A planning application to more than double the size of a travellers’ site has received objections from residents but the owner says he is just trying to make somewhere his family can live.
The application, to increase the current six pitches by a further 10 at the Twin Acres site in Arlesey, was submitted to Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) on April 29.
This comes after an application submitted last year to expand the site by 14 pitches was rejected by CBC.
The site on Hitchin Road is owned by builder Larry Connors, who has offered to fund a £5,000 footpath from the site into Arlesey as part of the application. Speaking to the Comet, he said: “I’m hoping this application will go straight through. We need to expand the site so all my family can live together.
“We’ve had problem getting it through because all gipsies get painted with the same brush so everybody thinks that we’ll cause a mess here but we keep ourselves to ourselves and we don’t cause any problems.
“I’ve lived in the area all my life and my kids go to school in Arlesey. We’ve never had any problems with any of the locals. I’ve got a big family and we all want to live together because currently they’re all over the place and this would allow us to be together in peace.”
Ian Dalgarno, CBC ward councillor for Arlesey, said: “I am extremely disappointed to see that another application has gone in. I believe there is not a need for a larger site.
“I would encourage residents to comment on the application and make their feelings known. This is the eighth of ninth application in the last few years and people are getting frustrated about it. I am supporting the local community and town council and am meeting with them to discuss the application.
“The people who have submitted it are hoping that local residents will give in and stop protesting against the application but that is not the case.”
Nick Daniels, chairman of Arlesey Town Council, said: “Our answer to this application remains the same.
“We will oppose it for the reasons outlined previously. Namely that the site does not need to be any bigger and making it so would damage the environment.”
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