Travellers in Baslow?

UPDATE ON POTENTIAL SITES FOR TRAVELLERS IN DERBYSHIRE DALES

Baslow & Bubnell Parish Council has issued the following statement in relation to a report (linked below), which was published for discussion at a DDDC Full Council meeting on Thursday 28 September:

The parish councillors understand that there was a recommendation to use Station Yard at Rowsley again by travellers and that DDDC would only carry out an online consultation.

There was also a suggestion to rescind the decision of last November to remove a number of possible traveller sites including the Nether End car park in Baslow.

It has since come to our attention that DDDC has postponed a decision to rescind the results of last November’s meeting, which removed Baslow and other locations across the region from being the list of possible sites for travellers.

We are extremely concerned about rescinding a decision made previously by Derbyshire Dales District Council and have asked DDDC to explain how their working group can justify rescinding their previous declaration.

To our knowledge there has been no new research or consultation and we would like to know if the new working group even visited the proposed site in Baslow.

Nothing has changed in the use or infrastructure of the car park in Baslow in the last 10 months and it remains totally unsuitable as a traveller site. There are on-going issues of parking in Baslow and it would simply not be possible to lose any car parking spaces.

The car park is close to a thriving quarter of Baslow, where there are number shops, pubs and hotels, and given their importance to the wider visitor economy a traveller site would only deter usage of that car park and compound the problems of a lack of parking across the village.

The parish council appreciates that DDDC is trying to keep all options open, but this proposal, albeit postponed, appears to completely ignore the balanced and information based decisions made in November 2022.

On behalf of all residents and businesses based in Baslow, we urge DDDC not to overturn their previous ruling and to remove Baslow from ever being considered as a possible location for travellers.

Baslow & Bubnell Parish Council

SEE THE FULL DDDC REPORT HERE