LLAY residents have once again shown their solidarity and turned out in force in the fight against plans for a traveller site in the village.

At another packed public meeting, this time at the Llay Royal British Legion Club, councillors Bryan Aplsey and Rob Walsh were joined by Wrexham Council’s head of environment and planning, Lawrence Isted.

Wrexham Council is due to finalise its Local Development Plan (LDP) next year, marking out which sites across the county can be developed over the next 10 years, and which can be protected.

Consultation on the document will take place from April 9 to May 31, before the LDP is set by the Welsh Government.

As part of that plan, sites need to be identified within the county borough for up to 24 plots for travellers, with current plans for eight on land at Pont Y Capel, with similar numbers on sites in Brymbo and Hanmer.

On his reasons for opposing the plans, Cllr Apsley said: “Well if we don’t and the people of Brymbo and Hanmer put up good arguments, we could end up with all 24 plots.”

Cllr Apsley also revealed that although there are covenants placed on the land that restrict what it may be used for, Wrexham Council do not consider they will impact on the proposed plans for the site, due to the content of the draft LDP.

Cllr Rob Walsh praised the turn out and said it sends out a clear message to the council about how strongly Llay feels.

He said: “As your county councillors, Bryan and I are united in our opposition against this as are your community council.

“We’ve had a quite rough time in the village recently, the last thing we want as councillors is to bring bad news and that’s all we ever seem to do.”

While Cllr Walsh stressed that no planning application has yet been submitted for the land, he had several questions for Mr Isted, including the all-important, ‘why?’

Mr Isted advised that the requirement to meet Gypsy and traveller needs is identified in law throughout the UK, but particularly in Wales.

He went on to explain the importance that Wrexham has an LDP in place and not having one was one of the reasons that the council was losing appeals at a national level.

On why Llay was identified Mr Isted said: “The first thing to remember about this, is that there is no ideal site for any of the uses allocated or proposed in the LDP, whether that be for retail, housing or anything, Gypsy and travellers included.”

A further public meeting on the issue will be held at Bradley Village Hall on April 16 at 6.30pm.

The LDP consultation is due to open on Monday.