Infrastructure issues at The Stables and Greenacre Gypsy and Traveller sites, Billington
In addition to these planning issues and breaches, the sites do not have the necessary infrastructure in place to support the permitted caravans / mobile homes. Over a number of years, there have been on-going issues with insufficient sewage infrastructure, inadequate supplies of clean water and electricity supplies and the additional numbers on the sites are compounding these problems.
Clearly, these issues present both a health and safety risk to residents as well as ongoing (and often expensive) action from the utility companies and other agencies.
Over a number of years, the deteriorating position on the sites has impacted not just the residents on the sites, but also the village of Billington and surrounding areas. The lack of essential infrastructure at the site has led to water supply problems for the village of Billington. This is because people on the sites have illegally tapped into the water supply, leading to water pressure problems in the village which Anglian Water has had to address. Private domestic electricity supplies have been accessed by people on the sites, running up significant bills for the occupier of the private home.
The field adjacent to the sites has had ongoing issues with sewage being emptied and piped onto it. The Environment Agency has visited the sites to ensure the clean water supply is not being contaminated and continues to monitor the situation.