Cash black hole opens up on Knabhall Lane Tansley

Derbyshire Dales Conservative District Councillors appear to have decided to stake their reputation (and a great deal of taxpayer cash) on the viability of a remote site high above Matlock as the preferred location for both a temporary and permanent traveller site. (Quite how it could possibly be both we do not understand but that is what the Tories have voted for).

At Tuesday's Extraordinary Meeting of Full Council they agreed to spend up to £25,000 on 'further assessment' of the site, including tests for contamination of the soil (the site was previously a waste tip). No figure for what had already been spent (including officer time) was provided.

Somewhat controversially Conservative Cllr Tony Morley proposed that two of the recommendations made by council officers should be taken off the table. These were proposals that two senior council officers should be given authority to direct the two traveller families (for which the Council has a legal responsibility to provide a site) to any of 7 suggested locations spread around the Dales. It is not too hard to see why they were dropped. Not enough Tory Cllrs would be prepared to be seen to vote for a traveller site in 'their patch' so if these proposals were left in, it is probable that the whole motion would have been lost.

As several councillors pointed out, without this ability to move the families on from unsuitable sites, it in effect means that DDDC were sanctioning the families to stay for an unlimited period of time on council car parks, probably the two they were camped on at present - Bakewell ABC and Station Car Park Matlock - whilst they wait for Knabhall Lane to be given the go-ahead.

With the mounting costs and delays, it was clear that some Tories were not as enthusiastic for Knabhall Lane as they were last September when this 'newly discovered' site received their full endorsement.

Nevertheless the motion to drop the recommendations for temporary sites was approved by 17 votes to 16, with all Lib Dems (along with opposition Cllrs) voting against. They also voted against spending any more council taxpayers money on what is in their opinion a totally unsuitable site.

One glimmer of hope for a 'Plan B' to replace Knabhall Lane when it is eventually found not to be viable (or possibly not even belonging to DDDC!) was the suggestion that the current process of revising the Local Plan should be expanded to include an identification of possible locations for traveller sites. This motion did pass. Let us hope it is taken seriously.