Families concerned at state of new traveller site in Telford
Families who have been moved to new traveller site provided by Telford & Wrekin Council have complained it is dangerous for their children.
They say temporary fencing around the £2.6 million site in Donnington Wood does not stop children running on to busy main roads.
Further issues, they claim, include a lack of decent toilet facilities, unfinished groundwork and constant monitoring.
Telford & Wrekin Council said the temporary fencing at the traveller site in Donnington Wood had been inspected by independent health and safety auditors and work had started on Monday to put up two metre high permanent security fencing.
It said 10 plots had been supplied with an independent toilet, shower, kitchen facilities and living space and the buildings were designed to central government guidelines.
By the end of completion there will be 25 plots in total and a community building complete with a hard standing play area.
Ben Foster, whose mother-in-law lives on the site, said he had planned to move from Northampton with his partner and young daughter to live next door. But after seeing the conditions there he has called on the council to make improvements.
"There is a patrol car driving up and down here 24-7 and the families also have cameras pointing at them all the time," he said.
"There is no adequate fencing for the children and rubbish has been left piled up for years. A lot of the tenants have cleaned the place up themselves but there is still the constant smell of sewerage."
Mr Foster said families had not wanted to move to the new site last week because it had no shelter from the wind and surfaces for their caravans to park on were uneven.
"The families had been on the old site for 30 years but a lot of them have now had enough of it," he said.
"The council has provided one cupboard for all their food, one for cutlery and one for the boiler, which isn't enough space."
He added: "The old site had rotting doors and window frames, the floors in the kitchen were slippery and the electricity would often come on and off all the time.
"There was nothing protecting the electric hook-ups from children putting their hands in where the electricity was running. But nobody wanted to move, they just wanted the council to fix the problem.
The families are terrified they will be evicted if they complain but we have been forced to speak up."
Mr Foster's mother-in-law Wendy Smith moved to the site with her disabled 10-year-old daughter Diah on Thursday. She said her daughter needed to regularly use a bath because of her disability but despite informing the council she had been left with just a shower, which often only produced cold water.
Council spokesman Russell Griffin said the gradual slope of each pitch was needed for drainage and added caravans had a levelling capacity, which could be used.
"The CCTV, which covers only the internal road system, has been installed to offer security to those living on the site," he said.
He added the issue of sewerage had not been raised before and would be investigated. The council was also looking at cupboard space.
He also said: "We are aware of Wendy's concerns and will support her."
