Cardiff Council, as part of its Local Development Plan (LDP), has been considering the future of Traveller and Gypsy sites in the city. The LDP is a plan for the future and is an attempt to ensure that the residents of the city have the facilities they need.
Media Wales has recently reported that the Council (after surveying the current site which has hosted Travellers and Gypsies for 40 years) has decided it is now unsuitable as it lays on a flood plain. It has been estimated that works to protect the current site with coastal defences and upgraded facilities would cost in the region of £3.8 million.
Travellers who live on the site want to stay there, but Cardiff Council - with the aid of the Welsh Government - has now decided that rather than maintain the site, it is going to allocate five separate new sites for the Travelling and Gypsy communities.
Not only is this going to scatter the Travelling and Gypsy communities throughout Cardiff, it will also place a strain on the local service providers who over the years have tailored service provision to accommodate residents of the site and those living around it.
Some of the sites being considered are up to 6 miles away across the city and include a site close to Lisvane, where land has recently been valued at £1 million per acre, and Cardiff Bay, which also hosts the Welsh Government building (Senedd).
Even though £3.8 million is a fairly large sum of taxpayers' money, surely it would be better invested in the current site rather than paying for the development of new sites which would put extra strain on public services and which could easily cost more?