A TRAVELLER transit site could be built on surplus land owned by Essex County Council.

At a meeting of the Essex Countywide Traveller Unit joint committee on Monday, the county council revealed a site in Braintree Road, Shalford had been identified as a location for the travelling community.

The committee said there had been an “initial appraisal” of four sites regarding their suitability for development.

The site in Shalford was identified along with three others in Ongar, St Osyth, and Great Wakering.

Elspeth Jones, 74, has welcomed the plans.

She said: “I don’t know if it would put a stop to unauthorised encampments, but it will help get traveller children into school.

“I taught at Hedingham Comprehensive some time ago when the school successfully got the children from the Ridgewell site.

“They soaked up the education while they were there thanks to a fantastic SEN teacher.

“It upsets me the number of travellers who miss out on basic education.”

The county council says it could get permission to build on the sites either from the submission of an official planning application, or it could review its planning policy for the site to be put forward in the development plan.

There are already sites in Cressing and Ridgewell with a total of 24 plots, and a private site in Twin Oaks.

County councillor Stephen Canning said: “It’s important that we protect the hardworking residents of Essex by ensuring that we have appropriate provision for travellers in areas that minimise disruption to local residents.

“As a county that works for everyone, we have to balance our legal duties to provide authorised encampments with our desire to protect the spirit of our communities.

“I welcome any discussions around developments which take account of the needs of local residents and travellers.”

County councillor Simon Walsh said: “We are reviewing a number of options for the use of surplus land owned by Essex County Council to ensure the best value for the taxpayer.

“As part of this, we are in the very early stages of fact finding work to explore if any of these sites would work as a transit site.”