Residents launch objections after Wolverhampton travellers site plan submitted
Formal objections against a planned travellers site in Wolverhampton have begun rolling after the proposal was submitted by the city council.
A series of objections were lodged by neighbours within hours of the planning application going live on the council's website.
It will come as no surprise to council bosses who have been braced for the backlash since opposition was made clear at a heated public meeting earlier this month.
Interactive map shows site of the land:
The move to create the site for up to 13 families on Gorsebrook Road, Whitmore Reans, has been backed by the authority's top figures but has to go to the planning committee for approval.
Leaders say they must get the proposal passed to ensure other green spaces in the city remain protected but residents are determined to stop it.
They fear they could lose an injunction granted by the High Court which protects key sites if they can't prove they have provided somewhere for travellers to pitch up.
Fears raised by residents include increased crime and more traffic.
One said: "The proposed site's entrance is on the busy Gorsebrook Road right next to the access road for Dunstall hill Trading Estate which is used by heavy vehicles during rush-hour."
Another objector said: "Additional traffic, when there is match days/races on, alongside other council events including the upcoming fireworks and other concerts make this road highly unsafe. The proposed site is right on the bend where traffic is known to go at increased speeds."
Concerns were raised about fly-tipping by one neighbour, who said: "I would rather have a lovely green space that was originally proposed a few years ago but was withdrawn due to lack of funding but now a few years later you have found funding for a project that we as a community do not want that will take away the bit of green land that we have away.
"Building a transit site in the proximity of back gardens of all the properties on the Grosebrook Road encroaches on the rights of the residents living in those properties.
"There is a high risk of fly-tipping into the back gardens of these residents.
"It can further impose a real risk to children and vulnerable adults if sharp and dangerous are thrown into the back gardens by the travellers."
