A FAMILY of travelling showpeople say they have "nowhere to go" after being prevented from moving onto a site they have been granted permission to be on.

The Jennings' fairground rides have been a feature of Stourport Carnival since 1947, but the family have been struggling to find a permanent home within Wyre Forest after being told they can't store their half a million pounds worth of equipment on their own land in Heath Lane, Kidderminster.

Now, after a planning proposal was approved by Wyre Forest District Council for the family to move to the former Burlish Golf Course car park, off Zortech Avenue, they say they have not yet been allowed to move on to the site.

Showman Neil Jennings said: "They have given us planning permission to go on the site but they won't give us the keys.

"The problem is, the site is in a mess. The site has been tipped on and burned."

Neil also says that the council will not tell them what the rates are going to be.

"They will not tell us what the lease rates are. We should know what the rates are going to be."

After several refused planning applications, permission was granted for the family to store 11 caravans and equipment on the former gold course for a total of two years at a meeting on Tuesday, September 17.

The site has has hardstanding areas utilised for car parking and access to the club house buildings, which have been derelict since 2017.

Neil Jennings added: "We can't get on there until it's cleaned up. They won't let us go on and clean it ourselves.

"We don't understand what the problem is.

"I'm a travelling showman. We have dealt with councils all over the country.

"It doesn't make sense to me. There's nowhere for us to go.

"We want permission to go on there, shift rubbish and tidy.

"We are caught between a rock and a hard place. "It's gone on too long."

The family previously feared they would be made homeless if a planning application was refused again, after being evicted from a site on Long Bank in Bewdley.

Family members hope to return to a Kidderminster base in time to work in the area on bonfire night.

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration, Planning and Capital Investments Councillor Fran Oborski said: “We have offered the Jennings a lease on the site and are waiting for a response from them.

"Once they have agreed the terms of the lease we will then be able to complete the legalities so they can move on to the property.”

A spokesperson for the council said: "We can confirm we are in detailed discussions with the Jennings family over the lease of the site and we hope that an agreed outcome can be reached shortly."