GYPSIES are being offered interest-free loans to buy land for their caravan sites.
The council that provoked anger with the scheme said yesterday it would help to banish the “negative stereotype” of rubbish-strewn rented camps.
But last night the project, which will see travellers borrow up to £50,000 a time, was dismissed as an insult to struggling buyers from other communities.
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “These loans are an insult to many hard-working families who are struggling to get together the money to put down a deposit on a property.
“Singling out this one community for loans is grossly unfair, particularly if some do not pay their share in council tax and violate planning regulations.
“In this and many other cases, the Government and local authorities need to be extremely careful about putting resources into particular communities as doing so can lead to understandable resentment.
“They should focus on cutting taxes so all taxpayers have a better chance to save and invest.”
Tessa Munt, prospective Liberal Democrat MP for Wells, Somerset, where the scheme is based, said Mendip Council ought to be helping all first-time buyers.
“House prices here are high,” she added. “Mendip ought to publicise the homebuy scheme more.”
The council’s announcement was met by a flurry of sarcastic remarks on local websites.
One resident wrote: “I heard this with amazement.
“I rang the council today, told them of my change of lifestyle by giving up my band E council tax home with four bedrooms, and intended to buy a Transit van with a four-berth caravan, giving up my job and going on state benefits and trawling for scrap. I was not given a good hearing as I’m giving up all that council tax.”
The council said its project, the first of its kind in the country, should help find 87 gypsy pitches over the next two years.
Officials have struggled to find suitable sites and say council-run sites are expensive to build and maintain, so it is inviting travellers to approach local landowners to discuss whether they would be interested in selling their fields. They then apply for planning permission to the council, which provides up to £50,000 to buy the land.
The travellers and council then set up a “community land trust” in which they both retain ownership of the land. Once the loan is repaid the travellers retain part-ownership with the trust but are allowed to live on the site indefinitely.
Lynden Clarke, Mendip District Council’s housing project officer, said: “It’s a win-win for all because it is very cost-effective from local authorities’ point of view.”
Councillor Nigel Woollcombe-Adams, the council’s housing chief, added: “The targets for Mendip compared to other districts are particularly challenging. We have to recognise that doing nothing means the council ignores its obligations.”
Maggie Smith-Bendell, a campaigner for Romany rights, said one family had already started looking for a home under the scheme.
She added: “It is a fantastic thing. It proves that we can work with the local authority.”
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