Traveller site 'bombshell' (Leicester Mercury 29.1.09)

A county beauty spot could be wrecked after a new travellers site was proposed on its edge, campaigners said today.

Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council has earmarked land close to Thornton Reservoir for a new 10-pitch camp in its latest planning documents.

Protesters say the land, off Reservoir Road, is the wrong place because the road is too busy and the village has no facilities to support between 30 and 50 caravans.

Previously a site half that size was ruled out because of the proximity to the existing Costalot travellers site in Bagworth and serious issues relating to highways access.

A public meeting organised by campaigners is set to take place tonight at Forest Hill Golf Club in Markfield Lane, Botcheston, from 7.30pm.
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Many are expected to attend as hundreds have already signed a petition opposing the proposal revealed by the council last week. A protest group has also been set up on social-networking site, Facebook.

Thornton resident Kevin Murfitt said: "We have no facilities whatsoever in the village and have a school that is completely full.

"Thornton Reservoir is also one of the biggest tourist attractions in the county and already causes serious parking problems and congestion. This is the completely wrong place to put a travellers site."

The authority has courted controversy because it has changed options for travellers several times in recent months.

County councillor for the area, David Sprason, said: "Local residents of Thornton feel very let down by the bombshell dropped on them. This is a beautiful area that could be wrecked by this.

"Local roads are busy enough; schools are under enough pressure and full; doctor's surgeries serving the villages already overflowing.

"We already have the largest traveller site at Costalot; they do not want it and neither do the villages."

Chris Boothby, borough councillor for the area, said: "First and foremost this issue has been dumped on these parishes again, and this is a political decision as the views of officers have been ignored. We will fight to have this changed."

Thornton Reservoir is on the edge of Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, and was built by the Leicester Waterworks Company in 1854.

The reservoir was originally constructed to provide a source of supply for Hinckley and Nuneaton together with the western parts of Leicestershire.

The reservoir has not been used since 1982 for drinking water because of the cost of treating the water, and is now a popular tourist destination for walkers, cyclists and fishing.

Severn Trent runs the site and a spokesman for the company said: "Unless there is any material impact on our ability to continue operational activities at the reservoir site, we would have no reason to make any objection to third party planning proposals."

Steve Atkinson, chief executive of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, said: "We are required to allocate a number of sites within the Hinckley and Bosworth borough for traveller pitches as part of a long-term planning process, which includes suggested allocations of sites for other purposes, such as housing, employment and open space. No decision has been made on the location of any of these sites.

"Genuine public consultation on all these proposals, including on travellers, begins on February 9 and runs for eight weeks until April 6."

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