It is thought Cambridgeshire has a large number of travellers

News of the �90,000 survey was welcomed by residents in Cottenham, which has been at the centre of a controversy over a growing travellers' site.

Local councillor Tim Wotherspoon said: "There is general relief that an exercise of this kind is on the way."

He said there has been a need for a survey for years; there have recently been several disputes about the sites.

Council tax threat

A travellers' site housing around between 30 and 40 families has existed at Smithy Fen for 40 years.

But lately, scores more have arrived to set up camp, with some challenging local council planning orders telling them to leave.

More than 1,000 villagers in Cottenham threatened to withhold their council tax for 2004-05 if the size of the nearby site was not curtailed.

Simon Smith, of Cambridgeshire County Council, said: "We're going to take the opportunity to gain a better understanding of traveller requirements for education, employment, access to primary health care, and a whole number of issues."

Some Cottenham residents told BBC Look East it was hoped that the survey, though expensive, would help the council identify the number of travellers in the county and determine their effect on local services.