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Newham Council has been given £2 million to fund a permanent home for a community of Travellers who were forcibly relocated for the 2012 Olympics.
The ring-fenced cash was previously under the control of Hackney Council, whose housing services chief last month revealed the deadline to spend it had been missed.
Cllr Clayeon McKenzie said the deadline to use the money had been missed, and the funding earmarked for the site was “now lost”.
The community had been guaranteed a new “culturally suitable” piece of land, promised over a decade ago by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), after being forcibly relocated for the 2012 Olympics.
“There still may be other funds that could replace it. Council officers are talking to the GLA [Greater London Authority] this week about possible grants to support Gypsy and Traveller pitches in the borough,” Cllr McKenzie said.
But the borough's planning boss Cllr Guy Nicholson later clarified that the money “[had] been re-allocated to the London Borough of Newham as the development that the funding is linked to is located in Newham.”
This meant it would still be used for the long-promised location, he added.
‘’Hackney Council remains committed to supporting the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community. Despite the challenges, the council is in discussions with the GLA about an opportunity to apply for grant funding to support the delivery of a site in the borough,” he said.
A meeting between Hackney Council and the Travellers, originally agreed to take place in December, was delayed until 22 January.
When asked by the Citizen why it had been moved, a council spokesperson said: “The meeting has been postponed to allow more discussions to take place with the Greater London Authority and Newham to help shape a way forward.”
Philomena Mongan, an Irish Traveller who has lived in Hackney for 35 years, said: “There are many barriers, but we want to see this site delivered for our children.”
Ahead of the 2012 Olympics, 20 Traveller families were forcibly removed from their Hackney Council-licensed site on Waterden Road, right on the border with Newham, so the location could be redeveloped for the Games.
The community was rehoused by the council, but some families were broken up as a result, with 100 people split between three temporary sites.
A location on Bartrip Street near Victoria Park had been selected for a new pitch, but this plan was abandoned due to air pollution and noise concerns.
Non-profit London Gypsies and Travellers (LGT) last month told the Citizen it had been pressing politicians for updates.
LGT policy officer Nancy Hawker said that, at an event marking 2023’s Traveller History Month, councillors hinted that a new location had been found but could not yet be announced.
She said the group had lobbied repeatedly to alert Hackney Council that the deadline for spending the earmarked LLDC funding would pass on 30 November last year.
