Lib Dem councillor criticises traveller transit site location leak

Yesterday, Thursday, it was revealed that Warrington Borough Council had found a site it believes is suitable.

Such a site has been long sought after for around a decade in Warrington, but the council said it could not find a suitable location, until now.

Cllr Neil Johnson, a Labour borough and parish councillor who represents Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft, issued a statement in which he said he was ‘stunned’ to learn of plans to build a transit site on land on Kenyon Lane in Culcheth.

This is reported to be the former Kenyon Lane Nurseries site, which is currently listed for sale for £800,000.

In protest over the ‘secret plan’ which he branded ‘shady skulduggery’, Cllr Johnson resigned from the Labour party to stand as an independent, and promised to fight the plans.

Cllr Johnson is part of a cross-party traveller task group to identify a potential site, along with Liberal Democrat councillor Judith Wheeler.

Now, Cllr Wheeler has issued a scathing statement, criticising Cllr Johnson for revealing the potential site location, which could lead to a ’10-year setback’ and ‘undo the considerable work put in’.

She said: “Unauthorised encampments are costly for the council, are disruptive for communities and are not the answer for the travelling community.

“Transit sites reduce the number of such encampments, as proved in Halton.

Cllr Judith Wheeler has criticised Cllr Neil Johnson for leaking the site under consideration

“For more than 10 years, the council has been looking for a site – one that is in a suitable location, which means good transport links, but not too close to residential areas to minimise disruption, and a site with purchase price that is acceptable to the council.

“No areas of Warrington have been off the table in considering possible locations – something members of the group acknowledge.

“The group is not secret, but the discussions are confidential. It acknowledges that this is a sensitive subject for residents.

“Until it is able to find a legitimate site, nothing is made public, because rumour, speculation and disinformation jeopardises the process.

“Any traveller transit site must go through the full planning process.

“Cllr Johnson attended one meeting of the group, so to criticise and accuse the council as being guilty of shady skulduggery shows his poor grasp of the current situation, and a failure to understand the purpose of the group he is a member of.

“His announcement has possibly set us back 10 years, and undone all the considerable work that the council has put into finding a site.

“If we do not find a site, unauthorised encampments will continue, many of them in the ward Cllr Johnson represents. How is this serving his residents?

“The Lib Dem group will continue to participate in the group, and to work with Warrington Borough Council in identifying a site.

“We would not participate in any group where we felt the principles of openness and transparency were compromised.”