Selby District Council is to start looking for a new travellers’ site which would accommodate ten pitches in the district.

The provision is 16 fewer than previously suggested. But Labour leader Coun Steve Shaw-Wright, said that providing a site with only ten pitches would leave the council open to challenges from travellers who set up camp illegally.

At a meeting of Selby District Council on Tuesday night, councillors agreed to begin looking for a new site to accommodate ten pitches. It also made a decision not to provide any new accommodation sites for show people.

Earlier analysis had shown there was a shortfall of 26 pitches across the district with this increasing to 38 over the next five years.

But Coun Mark Crane, the leader of the council, said it was believed the earlier figures were based on the number of travellers who wanted to move to the area rather than the actual need.

Coun Crane said: “We’ve taken on board the previous research but we believe the initial figures had been arrived at by looking at people’s aspirations to move to the Selby area, rather than based on a pressing housing need. Therefore we’ve concluded, based on the evidence provided, that a single site to accommodate ten new pitches will meet the needs of gipsies and travellers here in the Selby district.

“We believe this is a sensible target that’s deliverable and will meet the needs of our area.

“Central Government has recently revoked legislation around regional planning decisions, to enable local authorities to take the lead in their own planning decisions about issues such as this. So we have been able to use our own judgement here for our own area, rather than rely on regional policy.”

But Coun Shaw-Wright said the council was leaving itself open to legal challenges which it could ultimately lose because the previous research said 26 pitches were needed.

He said: “It could allow travellers to set up camp on unsuitable sites and because we don’t have the provision, they could go to appeal and win. It seems to me to be a false economy. I know it’s an emotive issue but surely it’s better to plan where travellers can go rather than leaving us open to legal challenges.”

No timescale has been put on when a new site should be created by or where it would be. The Press has previously reported, however, that the council was looking at sites near Carlton, Eggborough, Kelfield, Osgodby, Bondgate in Selby, Church Fenton airfield and Wistow.