Plans for a dedicated Traveller site in Reading are set to be debated by the council.

A narrow strip near Smallmead, close to the Re3 Recycling Centre and the Sewage Treatment Works (STW), has been proposed.

The planning committee will consider the idea next Wednesday (October 5), in an attempt to reduce the impact and cost of illegal encampments, according to Reading Borough Council.

The site would accommodate up to 14 caravans on a temporary basis, ranging from days to three months stay.

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The plans include connection for electricity, a serviced sanitary block for each of the seven pitches, a play area and secure fencing and gating.

Objections have been made due to the fact the site sits in a flood zone and is located on the edge of the Detailed Emergency Planning Zone for the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Burghfield.

The council said that suitable “safety refuges” will be provided on site and an emergency plan to cover evacuation during a flood event and an incident at AWE Burghfield would need to be finalised in the event of a successful planning application.

When considering the application next Wednesday, Councillors on the Planning Applications Committee will need to determine whether the proposed mitigation measures are sufficient to approve the application.

The area was identified following a review of 80 possible sites in the borough which found the land at Smallmead was the only suitable site for a transit site in Reading, the council said.

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National guidance means every local planning authority should seek to provide sites on which the Traveller community can live.

Under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, police have powers to seize the vehicles of those who have failed to comply with a direction to leave land, but only if a suitable pitch is available within a local authority area.

Because there is currently no dedicated facility in Reading, the ability of Thames Valley Police to make full use of these powers is limited, the council said.

A spokesperson for the council said: “In acknowledging the difficult and competing tensions that a planning application of this nature entails, especially in terms of the natural environment, planning officers are recommending to Councillors that a temporary planning permission for a period of 10 years is appropriate in relation to the application.”

The planning application will be considered in public at the Council’s Civic Offices on Wednesday October 5 from 6.30pm.