Mick Grant

So after writing to residents in Brigg inviting them to a meeting about gypsies and travellers, it would now appear the Tories have done a u-turn!  David Cameron's meeting in Brigg next week now won't be about gypsies at all.  Perhaps the Tories are scared of the challenge I put forward yesterday!

Although the Labour group has been offered two tickets for the event - although we had to ask for them - the Conservatives have told us who can attend, confirming our suspicions the meeting would be made up of a hand-picked audience. I am not on the invite list. This also confirms the meeting is nothing more than a cheap publicity stunt.  But we were very surprised to receive a copy of an email from Andrew Percy yesterday which said: "Labour have attempted to rubbish the event by suggesting in the local paper that this meeting is in fact about travellers in Brigg. I can confirm that this is not the case."

His comments are confusing as Cllr Liz Redfern is quoted in a story in the Scunthorpe Telegraph about gypsies welcoming the meeting and invites to attend the meet and greet which were delievered to residents in Brigg had the headline: Brigg Travellers Sites - Have Your Say.  So is the meeting about gypsies or not?  Their u-turn not only suggests the party is in disarray, but that they are scared of tackling the big issues.

Could the real reason Mr Cameron won't talk about gypsies in North Lincs be the fact in his own constituency he has THREE authorised gypsy camps which are all run successfully (and subsidised by a Labour government)?  If it's good enough for Cameron...

Last night the Labour group discovered David Cameron is to attend a meeting in North Lincs to discuss the issue of gypsies and travellers. The Scunthorpe Telegraph has reported the story today which you can see here: http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/news/Cameron-visit-Brigg-gypsy-site-row/article-292988-detail/article.html

We have discovered the meeting is only open to ardent Tory supporters and not members of the general public. So much for a 'public' meeting!  As a result I have challenged David Cameron to a proper public debate on the issue. If he has nothing to hide then I am sure he will have no problem about meeting me.  I have had a lot of responses from local people on this issue and I am sure they would like me to ask Mr Cameron about their queries.  After all, it was Mr Cameron's very own Tory party in the 1990s that shut down all of the permanent gypsy camps, leaving us with the problem we have today.

As cabinet member for housing and strategic planning I would have expected an invitation to discuss the issue with Mr Cameron.  Unfortunately this has not been forthcoming. Instead the Tories are hand-picking an audience for him so he can dodge the difficult questions.  They are scaring residents by telling them Brigg can expect three gypsy sites but this is not the case. It is very disappointing the Tories have resorted to using local people to score cheap political points.

Therefore I have challenged Mr Cameron to discuss and debate the issues with me at a proper public meeting, in front of genuine residents and members of all political persuasion. If he has nothing to hide I would expect this invitation to be accepted.  If not it will prove his visit is meaningless and nothing more than gesture politics.

North Lincolnshire Council is seeking views about the possible introduction of a new school in the Ashby ward.  As homes are being built on the land behind the Morrisons supermarket at Lakeside Retail Park a primary school is designated for the area too.  The designated secondary school for pupils aged 11 and above living in these new houses will be Brumby Engineering College. However, the existing primary schools for pupils aged four to 11 in the nearby area are not big enough to accommodate the expected number of pupils that will eventually live in the new houses.

A new school will accomodate around 200 pupils and a consultation exercise is now underway. As ward member I would urge local residents to have their say on the proposed school. You can do so by:

• Email to; schoolsservices@northlincs.gov.uk
• Or by letter to The Service Director, Children, Strategy and Partnerships, PO Box 35, Hewson House, Station Road, Brigg, DN20 8XJ.

A public meeting will also take place on Wednesday 10 September at Brumby Engineering College on Cemetery Road in Scunthorpe.  The meeting will start at 6.30pm and council officers will give a presentation about the school. The consultation period will finish on 30 September 2008.

The travellers on the Connesby Quarry site were due to leave yesterday, but at the time of writing are still on the site. The council is now going before the courts so we can get an eviction notice and move them that way. I will update this blog as this issue develops.

I was also surprised to read - or should I say not surprised - our friends in the Tory group have been spreading untruths about the consultation process the council has undertaken. Wannabe MP Andrew Percy has written on his website that the council is looking for three sites in Brigg. This is not true at all. We are looking for one site in Scunthorpe, one in Barton and one in Brigg. We have put forward a number of suggested sites and we are now looking for feedback.  It is completely wrong to suggest there will be three in Brigg and I would hope Mr Percy will apologise for misleading local residents.

Talk is cheap, however, and as yet none of the Brigg councillors or Mr Percy have submitted their thoughts via the official consultation procedure, which only goes to show just how concerned they really are.  But then the Tories have never been very good at talking to or listening to members of the public, have they?

I received a comment yesterday that some people had problems with their comments not being published on the council's website as part of the consultation on gypsy and traveller sites.  Officers are now not publishing them until they have read them. We have had to consult our legal people about some of the comments that are being posted as they are unacceptable.

Advice back is that we will not be publishing some of the comments as they are not acceptable and are racist. When putting comments in about the consultation please make sure they are about the locatation of the site and suitability and not about the people who are using, or going to use in the future. Remember we are consulting our residents and we want as many people as possible to respond to our consultation.

We do not and will not accept sexist, racist or inflammatory remarks. I'm sure most of the people in North Lincs are level headed and can express their feelings in a proper and just way.

We are still consulting on the issue of finding camps for North Lincolnshire's gypsy and traveller communities. We have identified a number of sites and these are now out for consultation. We have had a number of responses so far and I would encourage as many people as possible to get in touch. Unfortunately we've received some comments which are unhelpful and a waste of officers' time.

We want to hear views on seven proposed sites, including Conesby Quarry in Scunthorpe. We need to look at the long-term future of the sites. This also means ensuring that the necessary security measures are in place.

The consultation process runs until September 19. To comment visit http://www.northlincs.gov.uk/gypsyandtravellersites

By law, councils have a duty to assess accommodation needs of gypsies and travellers. I welcome comments from people. 

That is why we are consulting on our plans.  We would be criticised if we didn't seek the people's views.  We want to know what people think of the proposed sites - good or bad.  We want them to suggest alternative sites, and we want to hear from those who may have sites that would be suitable.  We will consider all comments before making a final decision. 

To comment visit http://www.northlincs.gov.uk/gypsyandtravellersites.

North Lincolnshire council wants to hear people's views on seven proposed sites across North Lincolnshire. This follows a study by Salford University that identified a need for 46 permanent and five temporary pitches by 2016 to accommodate gypsies and travellers.

The council has now identified the following sites and wants to know what people think of them:

Normanby Road, Scunthorpe (Conesby Quarry)

Caistor Road, Barton

Two sites on Falkland Way, Barton

Three sites on Station Road, Brigg

The consultation document explains the plans and contains maps and site assessments for each of the seven sites.  The document is available to view and give your comments at www.northlincs.gov.uk/gypsyandtravellersites.

 By law, councils have a duty to assess accommodation needs of gypsies and travellers. It is part of the government's plans to foster, build and maintain sustainable and inclusive communities. There are around 80 gypsy and traveller families in North Lincolnshire (source: caravan count - July 2007).

The deadline for comments is Friday 19 September 2008

The issue of gypsies and travellers continues to dominate my workload. Over the last week or so I have had dozens of emails on the subject and almost 700 people read my blog so I know it is of significant interest to so many.

Sadly yesterday morning there was an incident again at the traveller's site on Normanby Road and the police attended following a 999 call. I understand five patrol cars and the helicopter were sent and arrests were made.  We are very aware of the problems in the area and, as I have blogged before, those currently on the site have been asked to move on.

However, the government has told us we must provide areas for gypsies and travellers to live and this is why we cannot shut the site down at present. We will be soon going out to consultation on that site and others in the region which may, and I stress may, be looked at for future provision.  We cannot bury our heads in the sand and hope the issue goes away and I hope as many people as possible have their say and express it in a mature and adult way - unlike some of the comments made on this blog!  I will keep people informed when more details about the consultation become available.