A SUPPORT group for gypsies and travellers has blasted Henley Town Council’s decision not to help supply legal sites.
A spokesman for the National Federation of Romani Gypsy and Traveller Liaison Group said councillors should “come out of the dinosaur age”.
She said: “It is frustrating for us that people still have these antiquated views about gypsies and travelling people.
“We have had laws changed to protect us. People can still speak about gypsies in a very derogatory way. They would never speak like that about other people.
“Romani gypsies are an ethnic group who don’t choose their lifestyle — they have never known any other way. Gypsy people won’t change — by tradition they have an aversion to bricks and mortar.”
The Government Office for the South-East is asking the opinions of councils about providing land for travellers. It hopes that official sites would allow travellers better access to schools and healthcare, ensure that taxes and rent were collected and reduce illegal sites.
Last week, Henley councillors warned that offering parts of the town would lead to more illegal sites in the area and an increase in litter.
Speaking at a meeting of the finance strategy and management committee, Cllr Chris Pye said: “I don’t think we should be obliged to support travellers’ sites. There seem to be more and more travellers and increasing numbers of Eastern Europeans are arriving every year.
“By creating and providing more sites we are actually encouraging travellers to enter the country. Travellers, by their nature, always move on. They won’t want to stay at one legal site. They will come along for a brief time, do some roof repairs and then leave, normally dumping quite a lot of rubbish.”
Cllr Peter Skolar said: “If this scheme gave local authorities the power to remove illegal sites then I may be in favour of it but it doesn’t.
“There are already a lot of legal sites in Oxfordshire — the county council has been awarded a Charter Mark for its work — but we also have an awful lot of illegal sites.”
The Government says gypsies are the most excluded ethnic group in the UK. In June last year, there were 3,169 caravans in the South-East of which 2,466 or 78 per cent were authorised.
A government report on site provision is due next year. Locations for legal sites will then be decided by local authorities as part of their own area plans.
There are six permanent council-owned sites in Oxfordshire, providing 80 pitches, with another seven privately-run areas. The closest to Henley is The Sturt, at Oakley Wood, which has five plots.
What do you think? Write to: Letters, Henley Standard, Caxton House, Station Road, Henley, RG9 1AD or email letters@henleystandard.co.uk
Published on 20 July 2009
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