PLANS for a travellers’ site in Dudley are to be debated again after claims of broken promises and betrayal by opponents of the scheme.

Councillors are being asked to decide whether the controversial choice of Budden Road in Coseley is the right location for a 40-space caravan park which supporters say is essential to tackle illegal encampments.  

Monday night’s full council will debate the proposal which was first proposed three years ago, and has lead to a major dispute between Conservative and Labour members of the authority.

Two weeks ago members of the council’s audit and standards committee narrowly voted to reject a report which would have seen construction of the £280,000 site begin.

At that meeting council leader Patrick Harley said the site was needed to deal with expected illegal encampments on green spaces during the summer months.  

He said: “If we could avoid using Budden Road that would be ideal and yes I’ve said in the past  on more than one occasion, that I would rather not use Budden Road and it’s not in our plans but there has to be an alternative and there isn’t an alternative.”

Saying any transit site must be ready for the beginning of the travellers season, he added: “It is simply, physical impossible to have any other site in the borough – that we have identified – ready for that point.”

An alternative site on Birmingham Road in Lye proposed by campaigners and Labour councillors was rejected by council bosses because of fears existing traffic congestion from a nearby recycling and waste centre would worsen.

The row over the proposal has been intensified by the political balance of the authority, where Labour and Conservative members hold the same amount of seats .

Cllr Qadar Zada, Labour group leader, has previously said his party would reverse any decision to go ahead with the Budden Road site if his party wins control of the council at May’s elections.