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A balanced policy on travellers - Arjuna Krishna-Das, 10 April 2005

To: Bristol Evening Post

Dear Sir,

Your anonymous correspondent, 8 April, berates Bristol Council for spending money on a travellers' camp, and invites us to guess who he will be voting for in the coming election. My guess is, the party which, in 1994, removed the legal obligation on local councils to provide legal travellers' sites, thus leading to traveller land purchases and occupations in contravention of planning permissions. Am I missing something?

May I respectfully suggest that he checks out the Green Party's long-held policy on this issue, which is "to introduce new legislation which would guarantee proper protection for the nomadic lifestyle of Travellers whilst ensuring that the lifestyle of the settled population is equally protected. This legislation would guarantee limited security of occupation on various forms of public land - limited in terms of number of caravans, length of stay, and factors such as road safety."

Yours,
Arjuna Krishna-Das

Parliamentary Candidate, Bristol East Green Party

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LOCAL PEOPLE MUST TAKE PRIORITY

11:00 - 08 April 2005

It is a strange situation when the old and infirm of Bristol, who have lived and were born in this country and paid taxes all their lives, have their services slashed when this Labour-controlled council is doing all it can to provide a travellers' camp in Ashton Vale at a cost of millions. Why do officials hate the ordinary man in the street so much, who, if they care to remember, pay their wages through council tax.

There is an election on the way and you can guess who will get my vote.

Name and address supplied.