A HISTORICAL English Heritage Listed Building in Middlewich will be turned into a wash facility for gipsies if Cheshire East Council’s planning application is granted.


Cheshire East Council announced in November last year that it plans to build a legal gipsy and traveller encampment on Cledford Lane in Middlewich.


The council has now applied for planning permission to turn the Cledford Hall agricultural barns into a washing and sanitary accommodation for the gipsies despite the barns being around 200 years old and grade two listed under English Heritage.


Cledford Hall itself was also a grade two listed building but was delisted in June last year due to fire damage caused in 2012 and is set to be demolished in the coming weeks.


The council claims that the reason it wants to use the protected barns is to bring the historical building back into use.


Cllr Don Stockton, Cheshire East Council’s Cabinet member for housing and jobs, said: “The site earmarked for the proposed transit site for travellers contains a listed outbuilding. It has been empty for many years and is in a bad state of repair.


“Local authorities have a duty to make every effort to bring dilapidated listed buildings back into use. So, we have decided to use the outbuilding to provide a meeting room, shower block and offices, as part of the development of the transit site.


“The site is designed to reduce the number of unauthorised encampments in Cheshire East. These have a serious impact on residents and businesses.


“There were 81 unauthorised encampments last year and until we have a transit site in place, the police cannot use their powers to move travellers on.”


Bob Moody, who lives on Cledford Lane nearby to where the gipsy site will be held, is leading an appeal against the plans and has gathered a group of residents who are also in objection.


Mr Moody said: “We are fed up of Middlewich being the dustbin of Cheshire and we are definitely going to be objecting to the planning application.


“Middlewich doesn’t have many listed building compared to the likes of Knutsford there are only 42 in the area and it is a huge shame that we have now lost one and going to completely misuse another.


“It is such an inappropriate use for a building with great architectural heritage.”


The council says the purpose of the legal gipsy site is to give police the power to direct travellers in the borough to the site.


The site is planned to be built alongside a borough-wide waste transfer site which will also be built on Cledford Lane by Cheshire East Council.