Agenda item

GYPSIES, TRAVELLERS AND TRAVELLING SHOWPEOPLE SITE ALLOCATIONS DEVELOPMENT PLAN DOCUMENT (DPD): ISSUES AND OPTIONS CONSULTATION PAPER AND 'CALL FOR SITES'

The Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) is a formal planning document prepared by the Council which allocates land for the development of authorised Gypsy and Traveller pitches across the District. The Issues and Options paper, which is due to be agreed by Cabinet on 9th November 2011, seeks public comment on how sites should be allocated for development as Gypsy and Traveller pitches or Travelling Showpeople yards.  The Call for Sites seeks information on potential land for allocation.

 

The purpose of this report is to inform the Council of the Issues and Options Paper and request its views as part of the consultation process.

Minutes:

The Council considered a report regarding the Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople Site Allocations Development Plan document (DPD)  which is a planning document prepared by the Council which allocates land for the development of authorised Gypsy and Traveller pitches across the district.  The call for sites seeks information on potential land for allocation.

 

The Chairman explained that the purpose of this item was to seek the views of Council as part of the consultation process. Comments that needed to be considered by the Cabinet are recorded below and will be referred to Cabinet.

 

Councillor Tim Ball, Cabinet Member for Homes and Planning introduced the item. He outlined the four levels of consultation on this and set out the legal background. He informed Council that the consultation period will run from 21st November 2011 to 16th January 2012.

 

Councillors made the following comments:

 

·  Councillor Martin Veal referred to the criteria set out for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople's accommodation as set out in Appendix 1 (page 25) to the report. He expressed his concern that some residents do not have the same level of facilities as those listed.

·  Councillor Dave Laming explained his concern on the yard space to be provided for Travelling Showpeople in that residents would have to pay business rates if they had similar space for winter storage. He added that business rates should also be paid on the flatbed lorries that some Travellers use for collecting scrap. Councillor Laming also referred to the 2200 Travellers on the waterways who had to move on constantly and asked for them to be considered.

·  Councillor Crossley agreed that the level of legislation on pitch requirements was burdensome. He stated that the Council had not addressed this issue before and now must take the opportunity that the Cabinet Member for Homes and Planning was providing. He further added that Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople had a low life expectancy and were not always well thought of and urged Councillors to take this opportunity to address the gap in policy on this issue.

·  Councillor Ian Gilchrist informed Councillors of the costs of £18-22 million involved in the recent Dale Farm enforcement action. He congratulated the Cabinet Member on the positive steps taken to avoid this type of cost for this authority.

·  Councillor John Bull stated that his Group welcomed the proposal and supported the consultation which he felt was overdue. He explained that the Development Control Committee had been in a difficult position many times due to the lack of Council policy on the issue and he welcomed a positive outcome.

·  Councillor Alan Hale referred to paragraph 4.1 in the report regarding discrimination and stated that if land was found for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople, in his opinion, residents on the waiting list for social housing were being discriminated against. He called for a solution for residents of Bath and North East Somerset from the stable community before making land available for Travellers.

·  Councillor Vic Pritchard called for issues to be addressed such as cost, waste provision, education and safeguarding measures. He further added that he had a series of people waiting for accommodation in the Chew Valley area.

·  Councillor Tim Warren explained that he had concerns for animal welfare on gypsy, traveller and Travelling Showpeople sites, in particular horses. He hoped that these concerns could be addressed in any Council policy on the issue.

·  Councillor Nicholas Coombes explained that he sat on the planning committee (Development Control) and that it had been difficult in the past when an application for a Traveller site came up as there was no Council policy on the issue. He further stated that this should be treated as a 'land use' issue and that every land use issue had knock-on effects. He stated that he fully supported the paper.

·  Councillor Sarah Bevan - Human Rights Champion stated that the authority has a duty to ensure that groups such as Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople are not discriminated against.

·  Councillor Eleanor Jackson stated that a policy on this issue was overdue and she commended this report as the start of the consultation process. She stated that a particular concern was that Traveller children sometimes find it hard to get into local schools. She asked if Councillor Ball could explain if it was the Council's duty to develop and subsidise the land. (Addressed in Councillor Tim Ball's closing statement)

·  Councillor Bellotti stated that he was appalled that there were no designated sites for Travellers in this authority which had resulted in incidents of illegal occupation. Councillor Caroline Roberts welcomed the opportunity for the public to comment on this issue and hoped they would engage in the consultation. She also added that it might be beneficial for Travellers to be included in the consultation. Councillor Roberts explained that it had been very difficult for Councillors who had experienced traveller encampments in their ward as there were no designated sites to move them on to. She asked if the authority was being asked to provide the site or facilities as well (addressed in Councillor Tim Ball's closing statement)

·  Councillor Sally Davis stated that she had had experience of a Traveller site in her ward and she welcomed the consultation.

 

Councillor Tim Ball, Cabinet Member for Homes and Planning, explained that the Council's duty would be to find sites, not to provide them. He stated that Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople are defined as minority groups.

Supporting documents: