Gypsy and traveller sites: Wrexham's potential plots reassessed

The council has faced opposition to some of its proposed sites

A local authority says it will reassess more than 400 plots identified as potential Gypsy and traveller sites after inspectors highlighted "serious failing" in its process.

Wrexham council had faced public opposition after putting forward sites in Llay, Brymbo and Hanmer.

Local authorities in Wales are required to review the needs of its Gypsy and traveller communities every five years.

The council said it would carry out a health check of its database.

Inspectors Sian Worden and Melissa Hall said they were "unconvinced" about the way the plots had been selected.

They pointed out that the Hanmer site had been recorded as within 100m (328ft) of a bus stop when the nearest one was more than 1.5km (0.9 miles) away and said the council had failed to show the Llay site lies within Alyn Waters Country Park.

They also questioned why the authority did not consider expanding an existing site on Ruthin Road instead.

• 'You're a Gypsy - are you going to leave school?'

• 'I didn't think university was for an Irish Traveller like me'

• More Gypsy and traveller pupils go to school in Wales

In a response to their concerns, chief planning officer Lawrence Isted wrote: "Despite the exceptional current national circumstances, the council regards the adoption of the plan as a very high priority.

"We will carry out a health check of all the Gypsy and traveller database entries to provide confidence that the information on which the site assessment is based is accurate and that the sites pass or fail at the correct stage of the process. We will ensure that the entries are consistent and robust.

"We will re-run the assessment as set out using the 'health-checked' data, but with changes to the process."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the local development plan was initially expected to be adopted towards the end of the year but the outstanding issues meant this was likely to be delayed.