A COUNCILLOR has come under fire for saying he was “praying fervently” that an emergency stopping place for Gypsies and Travellers would not be created in his division.

Wiltshire councillor Matthew Dean, representing Salisbury St Paul’s, was snubbed for the comment he made at a cabinet meeting today (Tuesday).

During the meeting, which was recorded, he said proposals for the emergency stopping places strategy were “entirely sensible and pragmatic”, but then added: “We’re all of course praying fervently that none of these places are in our own individual divisions but other than that we are keen to see it go forward.”

The comments were made during a discussion about the council’s strategy to find new sites, as the current transit camp at Odstock is not in operation.

But Cllr Dean told the Journal he was referring to congestion and road works in council divisions, despite having not mentioned this in the run-up to his comment, adding: “Talk about misquoted. I didn’t refer to Gypsies or Travellers I was talking about road works in people’s divisions and wards.”

He said fellow cabinet member Jerry Wickham, who criticised Dean for his “ill-placed sense of humour” had “misunderstood” the comment. “Nobody that knows me thinks I’m anti Gypsy or Traveller or anti any ethnic background,” Cllr Dean added. “Nobody that has ever met me thinks that.”

Cllr Dean said: “I would be opposed to having the spaces on any roads going into Salisbury that would slow down traffic flows. The reason I’m objecting to this isn’t because I don’t like Gypsies and Travellers it is because anything that causes more congestion or further reduces the air quality on the approach roads into Salisbury is something I would oppose."

And council leader Jane Scott said: “The whole council would disassociate itself with that [comment]. This paper [aiming to find new sites] is as much about making sure that we have a good site for our Travellers to be on when they are coming in and moving through our county and that they have the right services on those sites as well.”

Councillor Richard Clewer said he had spoken to Britford and Odstock parish councils about the transit site in his division and no issues had been raised, adding: “That concern [raised by Cllr Dean] is just not justified and not borne out of the evidence”.