Regional plan addresses Gypsy and Traveller site shortage
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Gypsies and Travellers will be provided with an 80 per cent increase in pitches in the north west under a draft review of the region’s policy.
The number of pitches across the north west must increase from 1,026 in 2007 to at least 1,851 by 2016 to meet an ‘urgent need’ for places to set up camp, the draft North West Plan Partial Review states.
And travelling show people will be given an extra 245 sites by the same date under the plan, an increase of 64 per cent on the 444 provided in 2007.
If the plan is approved after a consultation period, it will be up to individual planning authorities to arrange locations and designs of sites, but they must include access to services as well as sanitation and power supplies.
The document states that the chronic shortage of sites must be addressed.
‘This shortage creates additional problems for the Gypsy and Traveller community in terms of access to health, education, employment and other opportunities. It can also create tensions over the use of pitches without planning permission,’ it says.
‘The overarching aim is to ensure that members of the Gypsy and Traveller communities have equal access to decent and appropriate accommodation options akin to each and every other member of society.’
The document has been submitted to government and is now under public consultation until October.
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