Traveller site in Machynlleth to be made permanent

The deal with Machynlleth Golf Club, worth more than £10,000, is the final piece of a jigsaw that will allow the £1.285 million expansion and upgrade of the site near the town's cemetery to go ahead.

It was agreed by planners three years ago, and will provide a permanent base for a family which has lived in Machynlleth for a decade, while ensuring the council receives rent from the site.

Powys Council's housing solutions manager Dafydd Evans said: “The purchase of the land from NRW and the development of the permanent site will ensure that  five households are accommodated appropriately, can access services and continue to be an integral part of the Machynlleth community.

“The family have been occupying the site for more than 10 years as an unauthorised encampment.

“The development of a permanent site which will be managed by the housing service will benefit Machynlleth positively."

The deal will also see Natural Resources Wales sell 2.59 hectares of land, to be registered as common land, to the south of the A489 from Newtown.

Mr Evans added: “In terms of the common land, the exchange of land with NRW owned land ensures that there is still common land available.

“The housing service have and will continue to engage with the family when the site is completed.

“They will become council tenants formalising the obligations to each other.”

This means those occupying the site will in future need to pay rent.

Machynlleth County Councillor, Michael Williams, said he supports the proposal.

The extra £10,275 for the deal will come out of the housing general fund budget as the money from the upgrade sits in the council’s capital funding budget.

The council now intends to offer the development site out to tender, and work could begin in August.

Local authorities in Wales have a legal duty to provide permanent Gypsy and traveller sites.

The need for one in Machynlleth was identified in 2016 and was included in the Local Development Plan.