Now even police can't object to gipsy camp in picturesque village...because it's racist (Daily Mail 10th January 2009)

Police have been told they cannot object to a planned gipsy camp in a picturesque village - because to do so would be 'racist'.

Council chiefs have ruled that the local force's professional opinion 'breaches the Race Relations Act'.

The decision meant that councillors considering the planning application were not told how officers had been called to another local camp 109 times in just two years.


Objection: Bletsoe resident Colin Deas at the proposed site is unhappy that police were not allowed to have their say

The row centres on the tiny village of Bletsoe (population 281) in North Bedfordshire.

Early last year residents learned that the owner of a farm on the edge of the village had applied for permission to build four 'gipsy and traveller' pitches on his land.

They formed an association to combat the plans and were delighted when Bedfordshire police joined them by writing a letter of objection to the council.

The police's hard-hitting letter detailed their dealings with three other gipsy sites in the county.

Over a two-year period to January 2008, officers visited the three sites a total of 210 times. One site was visited 109 times.

The police were called out to deal with reports of fights, arson, assaults, stolen vehicles, violent disorder, anti-social behaviour, theft, child abduction and use of weapons.

Chief Superintendent Andy Street wrote: 'The numbers, and nature, of incidents are not atypical for traveller sites. The likelihood of such sites causing problems for those living in close proximity is highly probable.'

However, Bedford Borough Council refused to take the letter into consideration when deciding whether to approve the site. Officials claimed that including it in the summary given to councillors would leave the authority open to a prosecution for racial discrimination.




So they returned the letter to the police and refused to let councillors see it. As a result, the police were forced to withdraw their objection.

Bletsoe resident Colin Deas, 72, a retired businessman who grew up in the village, said: 'It seems to me that there are some things you simply cannot say if you are talking about travellers.

'I am sure that the police would be allowed to say there was fear of increased crime if they were talking about a new housing estate. So what's the difference?'

Bedford's act of censorship is the latest illustration of how politically- correct councils appear to be appointing themselves as our 'thought police'.

Only last week the Mail revealed how nearby Mid-Bedfordshire council labelled more than 3,000 local residents of the village of Stotfold as racists when they objected to a gipsy site.

They had simply expressed worries that the site could increase traffic, cause property prices to fall or increase noise levels.

Although councillors rejected the Bletsoe traveller camp plans last year, the landowner has now appealed and the case will be heard again next month.

A spokesman for Bedford council said: 'The police objection was treated very seriously.

'Legal advice indicated that the objection was not a material planning consideration and should not be reported to committee. In the light of such clear advice it was considered appropriate to return the correspondence to the police.'

Link to original article

Heres the link http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1111202/Now-police-object-gipsy-camp-picturesque-village--racist.html