In accordance with Torridge District Council's pledge to put the community at the heart of every decision it makes, a pre-planning public consultation event has been organised for the proposed gypsy and traveller site at Derriton, near Holsworthy.

The Housing Act 2004 requires local authorities to address the accommodation needs of the gypsy and traveller community. Follow­ing a Devon-wide needs assessment, it was identified that Torridge would be required to provide 24 pitches across the district.

On Monday, April 20, the district council's Policy, Performance and Resources Committee gave approval to proceed with the submission of a planning application, in association with Tarka Housing, for a gypsy and traveller pitch provision at the former Devon County Council Highways Depot at Derriton, near Holswor­thy. It is anticipated that the site could accommodate between six and eight of the required 24 pitches.

Tarka Housing Managing Director Nigel Barnard said: "Tarka is supporting the submission of the planning application because there is a need for properly managed sites and the planning process will decide if this is the right site. There is no cost to any Tarka tenants in our submitting this application."

Following the decision by the committee, a pre-planning public consultation event for the site has been organised for the afternoon and evening of Wednesday, May 13, from 1.30pm to 7pm at Holswo­rthy Memorial Hall.

The appointed architects will be in attendance with their initial designs for the site and be on hand to answer any queries from members of the public. Further pre-planning public consultation events will be organised to provide the public with more opportunities to comment on the proposal for this site.

Further information can be found on their website http://www.torridge.gov.uk">www.torridge.gov.uk where there is also an opportunity for public feedback.