Redevelopment of travellers' site near Dumfries paused
Councillors debated the future of the costly Thistle Grove project last week.
Calls were made last week to scrap a long-awaited redevelopment of a run-down travellers’ site in Dumfries and Galloway – and find an alternative site instead.
Thistle Grove at Collin was set to be completely rebuilt at its current location to upgrade living conditions and meet Scottish Government requirements at a cost of nearly ÂŁ14 million.
Temporary accommodation was also going to need to be found for the residents living on the site for potentially two years while the construction works were carried out.
However, council housing chiefs recently recommended that these plans be put on hold due to high level decant costs and “continued uncertainty and risks” around the condition of the Thistle Grove site.
But Abbey Councillor Ian Blake claimed that stronger action should be taken – by ditching development plans at Thistle Grove altogether.
Speaking at last week’s full council meeting, the Conservatives councillor said: “The report before us today strongly highlights the questionable suitability of the present site and quite rightly points out the uncertainty and risks associated with this costly project on an unsuitable location.
“The report makes the recommendation to pause the project, but it’s certainly our opinion and supported by others that this does not go far enough as we must act decisively now to allow the appropriate work to take place without delay.”
Mr Blake tabled a motion demanding that any further work on the current proposed scheme be halted with immediate effect, and that council officers should explore alternative sites while taking resident feedback into consideration.
Discussions over the future of the site have been dragging on for more than three decades, but there has been an urgent need for action in recent years due to the council being flagged for numerous failings with the accommodation at Collin.
There are serious issues of subsidence, structural problems, and dampness in the homes of the residents.
North West Dumfries Councillor Andy Ferguson, of the SNP-led administration, said: “This has been an ongoing situation for 30 years,
“Consecutive councils have not dealt with this. So if the fingers are getting pointed, they need to be pointed at absolutely every council over the last 30 years that has not done what they should have done with this group of people.”
The people staying on the site have made it clear to council chiefs that they want to see the whole area properly redeveloped.
However at the full council meeting last Thursday, housing bosses advised pausing the project in the short-term after estimated costs reached ÂŁ1.6m per caravan pitch.
According to a council report, there remains uncertainty about the scale of structural work needed to stabilise the ground which could result in large fluctuations in cost.
Following a 23-12 vote, Councillor Blake’s motion was rejected and it was agreed to pause the Thistle Grove development work.