Meeting documents

1 THE ISSUE

1.1 This report seeks approval of the recommended formal response to proposals on the Partial Review of the Gypsy and Travellers Policy GT1 in the draft Regional Spatial Strategy on the provision of caravan pitches for Gypsies and Travellers required for the period 2006 - 2011 in Bath & North East Somerset for submission to the South West Regional Spatial Strategy Partial Review Examination in Public. Members are also requested to note the publication of the West of England Gypsy and Travellers Accommodation Assessment, which has informed the proposals of the Partial Review.

2 RECOMMENDATION

2.1 Bath & North East Somerset Council's response to proposals to review draft Policy GT1 of the Regional Spatial Strategy (Appendix 4 to this report) is endorsed by Council and submitted to the South West Regional Spatial Strategy Partial Review Examination in Public Panel by 31 October 2007.

2.2 To note the publication of the West of England Gypsy and Travellers Accommodation Assessment which will be an important part of the evidence base for Bath & North East Somerset that will underpin future planning policy documents and other strategies that relate to the accommodation provision for Gypsies and Travellers.

3.4 The Government has made up to £56 million of funding available nationally for 2006 - 2008 to provide new sites and refurbish existing sites through the DCLG Gypsy and Traveller Sites Grant. The funding for new sites is being routed through Regional Assemblies as part of their Regional Housing Pots (RHP). Over £7 million has been allocated for the South West for 2006 - 2008 for this purpose. For new sites, the grant is paid at 100% of estimated project costs up to a fixed sum. All new provision will be eligible for 100% grant which includes the purchase of private sites for public use¹ . The South West Regional Assembly, acting in its capacity as Regional Housing Body, has submitted its initial priorities for capital spending to the DCLG in June 2007 on housing in the South West for the period 2008 - 2011. It proposes that the Traveller Sites Grant for the South West should remain at 2% of the overall RHP or £5 million pa, whichever is the lesser.

B7 Celebrating the contributions people from different backgrounds and with different experiences can make, and promoting equality of opportunity

B7 Improving customer satisfaction

B7 Ambition for the community - i.e. What the council, together with its partners, is trying to achieve

o Sustainable Communities and Transport

o Safer and Stronger Communities

o Healthier Communities

Partial Review of the draft Regional Spatial Strategy: Pitch Provision for Gypsies and Travellers

7.1 Members will be aware that the Draft South West Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) was submitted to the Secretary of State in April 2006 and an Examination in Public on the Draft RSS held between April and July 2007. The final version of the revised RSS will be issued in Spring 2008.

7.2 The South West Regional Assembly (SWRA), as Regional Planning Body, is currently undertaking a Partial Review of the draft South West RSS which aims to set out the additional gypsy and traveller pitch requirements for permanent and transit provision in each local authority in the South West over the period to 2011. This is a statutory requirement under the 2004 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act and subsequent Government guidance.

7.3 The Draft RSS published in 2006 included transitional arrangements with an indicative regional pitch requirement for Gypsy and Travellers pitch numbers up to 2011, but not an allocation for each local authority area. It recognised that this would not be possible without the benefit of local authority gypsy and travellers accommodation assessments of need (GTAAs).

7.4 On 13 July 2007, the SWRA agreed a revised policy and supporting text specifically with pitch provision for gypsies and travellers for submission to the Secretary of State and for consultation with stakeholders. The revised policy GT1 is set out in Appendix 1 and includes an interim pitch number for 18 residential pitches from the draft GTAA (see Appendix 2, para A2.14). Consultation on the Partial Review is taking place for a 12 week period between 8 August and 31 October 2007.

7.5 An Examination in Public into the single issue Partial Review is currently scheduled to take place in February 2008. The revised Gypsy and Travellers policy will be published later during 2008 as part of the final version of the RSS.

7.6 Appendix 2 provides more detail on the Council's statutory duty in meeting the accommodation needs of gypsies and travellers within the District to 2011 and to undertake a Gypsy and Travellers Accommodation Assessment (GTAA). An Executive Summary summarising key findings from the GTAA is included at Appendix 3.

7.7 The GTAA recommends a need for a total of 19 residential pitches (not sites) to be provided in Bath & North East Somerset for the period 2006 - 2011. The consultants who undertook the GTAA have suggested a figure for provision of transit sites but recommend that it is premature to estimate transit needs until sufficient long-stay accommodation is available, and that transit provision is best approached by negotiation between districts and at a regional level.

7.8 The GTAA also recommends the need for one pitch for travelling showpeople who fall within the definition of 'gypsies and travellers' for the purposes of undertaking GTAAs (Housing Act 2004, s255). However although this figure is not currently needed for the Partial Review of the RSS, the accommodation needs for travelling showpeople in the RSS will be queried as part of the response to the EiP Panel (Appendix 4, para A4.24).

7.8 Finally Appendix 4 sets out the comments which it is recommended should be made on the draft Policy GT1 for submission to the Partial Review Examination in Public Panel. The comments are supported by evidence in the West of England GTAA received in mid August 2007. As the pitch figures in the RSS are required to be supported by a sound evidence base it is recommended that the pitch figures for Bath & North East Somerset for submission should reflect the final figures from the GTAA to avoid any potential legal challenge (see also paras 10.1 - 10.2 below).

7.9 In order for the matters raised in the proposed response to be discussed at the Examination in Public next February, it is important that the response as set out in Appendix 4 is agreed by the Council during September 2007 and submitted to the Examination in Public Panel by 31 October 2007.

9.1 It is a requirement under Section 225 of the Housing Act 2004 for local authorities to carry out an assessment of the accommodation needs of gypsies and travellers residing in or resorting to their district. Circular 01/2006 Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Sites also requires local authorities to assess Gypsy and Traveller accommodation needs as part of their Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessments (GTAA). The GTAA will inform the Regional Spatial Strategy of the overall assessment of need for Bath & North East Somerset for the period 2006 - 2011. Under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 not only will gypsy and travellers policies be included in the Regional Spatial Strategy, but development plan documents will need to identify sites where the pitches required by the Regional Spatial Strategy can be provided as part of the Local Development Framework.

9.2 Since 31 May 2002, an enforceable, statutory general duty to promote race equality (the race equality duty) has applied to 43,000 public authorities in England and Wales. The general duty requires public authorities to:

It applies to councils, schools, health organisations, criminal justice agencies and central government departments, all public authorities with a central role in promoting the welfare of Gypsy and Traveller communities.