WORK on a proposed Gypsy site will not begin until 2019 at the earliest, the Cambrian News can reveal.

The near-£1m plan has been dogged with problems.

Taxpayers will fork out £990,000 to permanently house travellers on a piece of Machynlleth common land, with the bulk of that made up of a £750,000 grant from the Welsh Government.

Powys County Council will pay the remaining £240,000.

The Cambrian News previously reported that £790,000 had been set aside to complete the project.

The controversial project, which has now received planning permission, has seen a series of rows over replacement land, costs, and a lack of consultation.

Powys council said that issues with common land exchange and with the public consultation has led to the project “taking longer than originally anticipated”.

The plan to expand Machynlleth’s traveller site near the town’s cemetery was given the green light by Powys planners earlier this year, despite concerns in the town over unresolved issues about the highway access to the site and over the replacement of the designated common land.

Powys council has been ordered by the Welsh Government to provide the permanent traveller site for five families to “meet a recognised need”.