Feedback invited on traveller site shortlist

Families have been staying in an area of the car park at Matlock station for the past four years, the council said

A series of public meetings are due to be held to discuss six sites that could be used as temporary accommodation for travellers.

Derbyshire Dales District Council has called on the public to have their say on the six possible locations which were agreed upon at an earlier committee meeting.

The authority said it had a legal duty to "specific Gypsy and Traveller" families and that the issue of finding suitable accommodation for them had been "unresolved for far too long".

It follows an online survey into the six proposed sites in Rowsley, Wirksworth, Matlock, Matlock Bath and Middleton, with the first meeting in Rowsley to be held on Friday.

The group of families have been encamped in an area of the Matlock station car park and Matlock Bath station car park for the past four and three years, respectively.

As the families have a connection to the area but do not have spaces they can legally place their caravans, they are regarded by the council as being homeless.

The authority established a cross-party traveller working group to resolve the problem, which agreed on the following shortlist of proposed sites:

• Car park, Old Station Close, Rowsley

• Land south-east of Hopton Works, Middleton Road, Wirksworth, also known as land on the south-west side of Middleton Road, Wirksworth

• Arc Leisure car parks, Morledge, Matlock

• Station Yard car park, Dale Road, Matlock Bath

• Car park, Derwent Way, Matlock

• Land north-west of the cemetery, New Road, Middleton

Meanwhile, the council said it was still looking for permanent sites across the Derbyshire Dales.

The meetings are due to take place from 18:00 to 20:00 BST on the following dates:

• Friday 13 September - Rowsley Village Hall

• Monday 16 September - The Pump Room, Peak District Mining Museum

• Wednesday18 September - Holy Trinity Church, Middleton by Wirksworth

• Friday 20 September - Main Hall, Wirksworth Town Hall

• Monday 23 September - Council Chamber, Matlock Town Hall

A final decision will be made on the sites after the consultation ends, the council said.