Travellers' transit site planned for Peterborough

Peterborough residents are to be asked for their views on possible locations for a travellers' transit site.

Councillors and residents in areas reportedly "blighted" by illegally-parked travellers have been lobbying for an official site for some time.

The Conservative-led city council has confirmed it will now set up an all-party committee to "determine the best location for a transit site".

The sites allow temporary residency for a limited number of travellers.

The authority's recommendations will then be put out to public consultation.

'Act quickly'

Independent councillor, John Fox, said: "We've got to look at all the bits of land the council has got and work it out on its merits.

"Obviously some people are going to be very upset, but it's got to go somewhere.

"Otherwise, all you're going to do is move the problem from one area to another."

Insp Dominic Glazebrook, from Cambridgeshire Police, said dealing with illegally-parked travellers in the city was "a persistent problem".

"Without a proper transit site it does make our job more difficult because we have nowhere to move them to," he said.

He said the police were aware that some travellers had chosen to make Peterborough their home and their children were enrolled at local schools.

"It's not actually fair on the travellers to have to move from place to place every two weeks," he said.

The city council did not indicate when the committee might be ready to make its recommendations, but a spokesman said: "We need to act quickly."