“I simply don’t understand why gypsies and travellers should be treated under planning law in a different way to any other citizen,” said James Gray MP, speaking at the launch of his petition against the current traveller law, in Chippenham on Saturday morning.

“North Wiltshire District Council is being required by law to spend £250,000 of taxpayers’ money, against massive local opposition, to provide an unwanted and unnecessary gypsy encampment somewhere in North Wiltshire. There are two reasons for this: first, the Government have insisted on a ‘needs survey’, which is an absurd exercise in such a setting, to provide more gypsy encampments in North Wiltshire. But with large numbers of gypsies in Ireland, Romania and elsewhere just waiting to come to these shores, how is anyone supposed to know how many sites to provide? Surely there is at least a risk that by requiring local authorities to build these sites, you are in fact issuing an invitation to gypsies, of all kinds, to come to North Wiltshire.

“And second, it is likely that unless North Wilts District Council opens such a site, the Inspector who will shortly be considering the illegal site at Minety, will allow the gypsies to remain there. That too seems to me to be quite wrong, since it will be an invitation to travellers everywhere to follow the lead of those at Minety, and set up illegal encampments in the hope that it will force the local authority to give them expensive permanent sites.

“This petition therefore asks the Government to repeal the Act which places these unreasonable and unachievable demands on the District Council.”

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE PETITION