WINSFORD’S Slaters Way Gipsy and Travellers site has finally opened and families are moving onto the site, three years after construction began.

The 18-pitch site, off Barlow Drive, which cost upwards of £2.7million to build, was complete in 2015 and has been left empty derelict for the past 18 months with many residents wondering what was happening with the site.

It has now been opened this week and the first family moved onto the site on Monday, October 17.

Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) says that it took so long to open the site due to the council prioritising a similar site in Ellesmere Port.

Cllr Angela Claydon, cabinet member for housing, said: “The Slaters Way Gypsy and Travellers site has only recently been signed off with the construction company and work has been completed around the electronic barrier and IT within the office.

“The Gypsy and Traveller team prioritised the allocation of pitches on the site in Ellesmere Port, as many families from the accepted encampment in Ellesmere Port moved onto the site when it was closed in November 2014. Now all the pitches on the site have been allocated and the last family moves on at the end of September.

“The team have now started to allocate pitches on the Winsford site, we have received around 100 applications for a pitch and the team have been conducting further enquiries to establish who will be allocated a pitch. As you can appreciate the process is lengthy and is conducted face to face with families.

“The first families will move onto the site on Monday and the site occupation will be staggered over several months.”

Cllr Mike Baynham, CWAC councillor representing Winsford Over and Verdin Ward, has welcomed the news that a permanent travellers site in Winsford has finally opened.

Cllr Baynham said it was good news that the Slaters Way Gypsy and Travellers site was up and running, but added that it was disappointing that the council took nearly 18 months to give it the go-ahead.

"This site has remained closed for far too long,” said Cllr Baynham. “It’s disappointing that it’s taken the Labour-run council nearly 18 months since they took power to get it open.”

Cllr Baynham added that with other sites being looked at across the borough, he is supporting Whitegate residents, whose petition has so far been signed by over 4,300 people arguing against a transit site in the village.

He added: "I am hopeful that the residents of Whitegate can get their concerns addressed quicker by the council than it took to address the needs of the travelling community."