WARRINGTON Borough Council faces a £127,400-a-year bill to borrow money to fund the town’s future transit site for travellers.

Around £2 million has been set aside in the authority’s capital budget for the facility, which Town Hall bosses believe will reduce the number of costly unlawful encampments in the borough.

But the Labour-run council will have to fork out cash to borrow the £2 million.

It confirmed it will cost £47,400 in interest and £80,000 in minimum revenue provision per year – a total of £127,400.

But leader Cllr Russ Bowden firmly believes providing a transit site is the ‘right decision’.

He said: “A total of £2 million has been in the council’s capital budget since 2013 for the provision of a transit site here in Warrington.

“The exact cost will be known when a suitable and deliverable site is identified by the task group and taken forward by the executive board.

“As with all capital borrowing, the borrowing plus interest needs to be repaid.

“In judging the value of a transit site, we must remember that one of the principal objectives is to deal more effectively with unauthorised encampments, giving the police additional powers to immediately direct travellers to the transit site.

“Evidence from neighbouring councils shows that transit sites have a significant impact on the number of unauthorised encampments in those areas.”

In order to stay on the future site – which council chiefs have previously said could be fitted with CCTV – travellers will have to pay.

Cllr Bowden (LAB – Birchwood) added: “The running costs for a transit site will also be met by charging for its use.

“As a council, we already spend a significant sum on dealing with unauthorised encampments, including officer time, legal costs and clean-up.

“In real terms, this is more than the potential borrowing cost for a transit site.

“It is a proactive approach that offers far better value to residents than simply continuing to react to the situation.”

A shortlist made up of potential locations for the transit camp has been finalised – more than two years behind schedule.

Any proposed location will have to come before the executive board at the Town Hall for approval.

Cllr Bob Barr, leader of the town’s Liberal Democrats, has been keeping a close eye on the situation.

He said: “Having a transit site for travellers is not an optional extra for a local authority that wants to minimise the risk of having travellers trespass on land not allocated for them.

“The cost of dealing with unauthorised encampments, the clean-up and the distress for residents is unacceptable.

“The council does not have unallocated reserves on which it could draw, so borrowing at the best rate available and repaying over a period is the only available way of funding this essential investment.

“While we have few reservations over the financing, the final decision to go ahead with a site has taken far too long.”