Graham Stuart attends Keyingham meeting on controversial Gypsy site

GRAHAM STUART MP has stepped into the middle of a row over a retrospective planning application to continue to use land North of Mill Road, Keyingham as a residential Gypsy/Traveller site for four caravans.

The MP has been invited to a meeting tonight organised by the Keyingham Parish Council to listen to residents' views about the planning application. The planning application would retrospectively give permission for the siting of the caravans including hardstanding, erection of amenity block and installation of sewage treatment plant. The Gypsy/Traveller applicants have already bought the plot of land under discussion.

The planning application has prompted an angry reaction from local residents with over 300 letters of objection being submitted and an active campaign being fought by action group: Holderness RAID (Residents Against Inappropriate Development).

Graham Stuart said: “Residents don’t like the fact that people appear able to move on to land without planning permission, build hard standings and flout the laws that apply to everyone else. Having spoken to the East Riding Council I am reassured that this application is being treated like any other application. It is up to the Council to determine but, while I have no formal role in the planning process, I am happy to support residents and make sure that they know the most effective way to have their voices heard. This application is for retrospective planning permission which, rightly or wrongly, is a long established part of the planning system and covers anyone, anywhere who builds something without permission."

The MP says that the coalition government is planning a raft of measures to restore the trust and confidence of residents, like those in Keyingham, and ensure that local communities have more say over what happens in their areas, whilst also introducing measures to support travellers to address discrimination (see Graham Stuart, MP website).

The Keyingham Parish Council meeting will take place tonight in Keyingham Village Hall at 7.30pm (Friday, March 4).

-----------------------------

THE HOLDERNESS GAZETTE has contained a lively debate in its letters page over the last few weeks between the Chair of Holderness RAID, Neil Whitelam and Community Development Worker, Lindsey Jones of the Hidden Voices project which works with Gypsy / Travellers in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Neil Whitelam, Chair RAID

Lindsey Jones has warned of the possible "racially motivated undertone" of the RAID campaign and pointed to the fact that its Chair, Neil Whitelam, is a previous British National Party candidate. Neil Whitelam was the BNP candidate for the Beverley & Holderness constituency in the 2010 general election although he says in the current edition of the Gazette (March 3rd) that he is not affiliated to any political party at this present time.

Because of the alleged BNP connection it may be that 'traditional' politicians have been reluctant to get involved in the issue? The Parish Council meeting tonight, attended by Graham Stuart, should therefore be seen as a positive development.

Whatever the involvement of the politicians, it would seem to be prudent for Keyingham campaigners to ensure that their action is not seen as some racist backlash against a particular ethnic group, but is actually what it says on the tin; a concerned campaign against inappropriate environmental development.

Read more...