Wakefield travellers' site extension requires house purchase

Purchasing the property on Heath Common would enable the council to press ahead with plans to extend the site

A £5m extension to a travellers' site in Wakefield will be more likely to go ahead if a former golf clubhouse nearby is bought by the local authority, councillors have been told.

Wakefield Council wants to extend the Heath Common site from 38 pitches to 61, despite parish council objections.

The authority has been told buying the Old Golf House would reduce the risk of the scheme going to a public inquiry.

Councillors are due to consider the proposals later.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, councillors have already backed plans to extend the Heath Common site, which is the city's largest council-run traveller site,

However, a report warned the land was subject to a covenant requiring it to be kept as common land.

Any application to remove that would have to be advertised and referred to the Planning Inspectorate, which could lead to a public inquiry, councillors were told.

"Therefore, while the initial process is relatively straightforward, there is a risk of significant delays to the delivery of the scheme," the report warned.

However, officers said purchasing the Old Golf House, for an undisclosed figure, would minimise the risks to the project.

"This will provide much greater certainty of delivery of a gypsy and traveller site extension in this location," the report said.

The Old Golf House was once the home of Wakefield Golf Club

Alternative sites had been considered, but it had not been possible to find a better location, officers said.

Wakefield Council leader Denise Jeffrey had previously said the authority was legally obliged to accommodate travelling families.

The Warmfield-cum-Heath Parish Council said it objected to the extension of the site in the "strongest possible terms".

Heath Common was the original home of Wakefield Golf Club, which opened in 1892, with the clubhouse being opened in October 1897.

The club relocated in 1911, with the clubhouse building being converted to a residential property.