Collin traveller park work to be paused

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 £14 million.

Temporary accommodation was also going to need to be found for the residents for potentially two years while works were carried out.

However, council housing chiefs recently recommended these plans be put on hold due to high level decant costs and “continued uncertainty and risks” around the condition of the site.

But Abbey Councillor Ian Blake claimed that stronger action should be taken – by ditching development plans altogether.

Speaking at last week’s full council meeting, the Conservative 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 any further work be halted with immediate effect, and that officials instead 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, with an urgent need for action in recent years due to the council being flagged for numerous failings with the accommodation.

There are serious issues of subsidence, structural problems, and dampness in the homes of the residents.

North West Dumfries Councillor Andy Ferguson said: “This has been an ongoing situation for 30 years. Consecutive councils have not dealt with this.”

The people staying on the site have made it clear they want to see the whole area properly redeveloped.

However at last week’s meeting, housing bosses advised pausing the project in the short-term after estimated costs reached £1.6m per caravan pitch, and amid 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 scheme.