Feltham 's travelling showpeople who fear being moved out of the homes they have lived in for generations so Hounslow Council can build flats on the land, claim members of the public have been gagged from speaking about the issue at an upcoming public meeting.

The showpeople, who run funfairs around west London, have been worried about their future ever since the Feltham Masterplan included an option to build flats on the land they have owned for 110 years on the Station Road Estate - next to Feltham station and Bedfont Lane.

They live in chalets, bungalows and mobile homes with space for their fairground rides but fear the council could hit them with a compulsory purchase order to get hold of the land.

The council had invited the showpeople to speak at a Feltham Ward Forum meeting on September 20.

They expected it to involve a statement by the showpeople at the beginning of the meeting and would allow for members of the public to ask questions about it in the open forum section of the meeting at the end.

Four generations of Feltham families who run fun fairs could be kicked out of their homes by the council

But the showpeople were outraged when they received an email from council leader Steve Curran stating the issue would be discussed as a standard agenda item with no public debate.

The letter also invites the showpeople to a private meeting between them and the council on Octobet 17.

They believe it's a deliberate attempt to stop people talking about their plight. The issue is so contentions that Councillor Alan Mitchell who was due to chair the forum meeting has now resigned from it.

A spokesperson for the showpeople said: "The council are clearly trying to treat us as if we are not proper local residents and saying that non showpeople should not be interested in our well-being and future. It won't work!

"They seem to be showing a complete disregard for our well-being. And when we get in writing the agreement on how the meeting will be held in the morning, but the leader of the council, for no reason at all, just reneges on that within 24 hours, we have to ask how this council can be trusted at all.

Feltham showmen need to live where they can store and maintain their fairground equipment

"Hounslow keep claiming that they are in discussions with us and local people, well this suppression of democratic debate shows how totally false that claim is."

The showpeople say they need to discuss the issue urgently to try to get answers from the council on when and how the plans might go forward and that the delays are causing stress and illness to those fearful of losing their homes.

They own 60% of the land and the council 40%, but whilst they have met Cllr Curran a number of times over the past 18 months they say they have been given no answers as to when they might have move or where to.

They added: "Hounslow Council know that so many of the residents in Station Estate Road are suffering stress-related illnesses because the council have not make their intentions clear and, despite their claims to the contrary, have not discussed their ideas or options and will not even tell us when they will have these, which were promised almost a year ago."

The families take their fun fairs all over London

But Cllr Curran says he decided to "elevate" the matter to an agenda item at the September 20 meeting precisely so the showpeople get a proper chance to speak on the issue, and he has always maintained the showpeople would only be moved if a suitable alternative site could be found.

He said: "There have been no changes to the meeting on September 20, other than to elevate the showpeople matter to a separate agenda item. We recognise the concerns of the showpeople and they will have every opportunity to speak when that agenda item is discussed.

"With regard to the concerns in the community we have repeatedly stated that we are looking for alternative sites for the showpeople and until we find such a site, there is absolutely no possibility of the showpeople being asked to move."

However, Cllr Curran admitted the council is in "desperate need" of building new affordable homes for its residents, hinting that it will seek to develop the land when possible.

He said: "Residents will know that there is a housing crisis in Hounslow as there is in the rest of London, and we are in desperate need for new homes for our residents. Not only those on the waiting list, but also the many hundreds of families who are in overcrowded accommodation. We are committed to build more social housing at rents that local people can afford and we intend to meet that pledge."

But showperson Yasmin O'Brien said that even if the council does find a suitable site, the families simply do not want to have to move from their homes.

Showpeople's sites also have to conform to a set of legal regulations including turning circles and space for HGVs and enough room for the families to expand and take over the business as tradition dictates, so any quest to find a suitable alternative site will not be easy.