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Council ditches plans for travellers site in village

Gary Fitzpatrick • Published 4 Nov 2011 08:30 Print Comments 32 Comments

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CONTROVERSIAL plans for a travellers' stopover site at Cairneyhill have finally been abandoned by Fife Council after a storm of protests.

Local MSP and councillor Bill Walker welcomed the decision but slammed the handling of the whole affair as a "wasteful fiasco".

However, the council's decision to ditch the plan was not made because of the local outcry over a lack of consultation but because the landowners did not want to proceed.

Councillor Alice McGarry, chair of the council's gypsy travellers working group, explained, "I think initially it was thought the land was owned by the council but it was only leased.

"In the end, the landowners, Wemyss Estates, did not want the travellers' site to go ahead.

"We could have gone down the compulsory purchase route but that could have taken years.

"So as far as Cairneyhill is concerned that's it although it's not to say the travellers won't come back there.

"That's been a regular stop for them but it will be down to the landowners to take action if they do."

Mrs McGarry's SNP colleague, Mr Walker, said, "This is actually a good decision as access, egress to and from the proposed site was very dangerous but it should never have got this far.

"Surely council officers should have ascertained long before now whether the ground would have been available.

"A huge amount of public upset and cost has been caused in this whole matter which simply confirms my previous request to Fife Council chief executive Ronnie Hinds for an urgent inquiry into the manner that this entire issue was handled by council officers."

Mr Walker said he had been involved "in a protracted exchange, principally over the fact that the person around whom my complaints were made was the very person asked to carry out the investigation".

He continued, "Also, although Mr Hinds admits that things 'could have been done better', he sees no grounds for any disciplinary steps to be taken against any council officer.

"In my opinion, this is all not good enough and is mirrored in a number of other decisions and projects across Fife.

"We need to ensure that officers, paid for by taxpayers, carry out the wishes of democratically elected councillors in a clear and transparent manner.

"There is much to be done. I regret that this wasteful fiasco over the proposed Cairneyhill gypsy travellers' stop-over site demonstrates just how much."

Another critic of the plan has been Lib Dem councillor Gerry McMullan, who had highlighted the dangers of having a site on a zig-zag bend in the middle of traffic lights.

He said, "I'm delighted at this news.

"I was against any proposal to establish a site so close to the village.

"It was taking away part of the core path system of Fife and was a very dangerous area for many reasons, especially the transportation issues."

He added, "I brought it to the attention of many of my colleagues and officers that there were concerning anomalies with the consultation process and I hope lessons have now been learned.

"I'm delighted for the communities of Cairneyhill, Torryburn and Crombie. The residents can now get back to once more using the area for walking their dogs, cycling and general exercise in complete safety."

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