A Romany Gypsy family are threatening to leave their site to occupy Brecon carparks as Powys County Council allegedly looks to open the site up to people outside of the family.

Opened in 2014, Brecon Gypsy and Traveller site at King’s Meadow is the home of the Smith family who claim the site was promised just for their family.

Mark Lewis, who is a member of the Smith family at the site, told The Brecon & Radnor Express that despite promises that the site would be exclusively for the Smith family, all the residents had received phone calls last Thursday, January 28, to make them aware of the meeting at around 1.30pm tomorrow.

He said: “There’s a big meeting on the site on Thursday [tomorrow] and they’re saying they want to change the license on the site. We’ve all had phone calls to say there’s a meeting.

“It is not worth the hassle of a phone call, why don’t they write to us? There’s proof then, saying that there’s a meeting there. Some people can read some people can’t.

“They’re looking into legal guardians - that site was made for the Smith family only - for the grandchildren and great grandchildren.”

Mr Lewis said the group are threatening to leave and pull into carparks like those of the Powys County Council office.

He said: “Everybody is up in arms over it. Everybody’s going to leave on Thursday, they’ll pull into the carparks. They’re looking into legal guardians - that site was made for the Smith family only. - for the grandchildren and great grandchildren. Everybody is up in arms over it. Everybody’s going to leave on Thursday, they’ll pull into the carparks.

“I know families do have disputes - but families stick together when they [the council] are trying to do something wrong.”

When the site was opened in 2014, the family say that the plots were to be used by extended family of the Smiths before they would eventually go to the direct children when they were old enough.

The Brecon & Radnor Express approached both Powys County Council and the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority for a comment.

A spokesperson for Powys County Council said: “Council officers are due to meet shortly with Kings Meadow residents to advise them regarding how vacant pitches at the site are allocated in line with the council’s approved Gypsy and Traveller Allocation Policy, which applies to all the council’s Gypsy and Traveller Sites.

“A key aim of the is policy is to ensure that allocations are made according to the needs of applicants while taking full account of existing family groups so as not to negatively impact the current community cohesion of the relevant site.”

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