A duty under the 2004 Housing Act requires local authorities to assess the accommodation needs of Gypsies, Travellers, and Showpeople, and to make adequate provision for them through the Planning process.
Stroud District Council has worked with the County Council and the other district councils in Gloucestershire to undertake an assessment of Gypsy and Travellers and Showpeople's accommodation needs in the county, as required under the 2004 Housing Act; it aims to identify how many residential, transit and temporary stopping places are needed, where they are needed and how big they need to be.
The outcome has been provided to the South West Councils (formerly the South West Regional Assembly) for its Single Issue consultation which ran until 31st October 2007. The next stage was an Examination in Public which took place in early March 2008 and where a panel considered the proposed additions to the Regional Spatial Strategy. It is this strategy that informs local planning frameworks, which district councils and unitary authorities must draw up.
The resulting Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) is available both as an executive summary and a full report and appendices to download from this page. The Final Report and Appendices are large files which could take some time to download.
PDF
Executive Summary (PDF 53 KB)
Background
A national shortage of Gypsy and Traveller caravan sites results in unauthorised camping, leading to enforcement actions, planning appeals, and tensions with the settled community. A new duty under the 2004 Housing Act requires local councils to assess the accommodation needs of Gypsies, Travellers, and Showpeople, and to make adequate provision for them through the Planning process. This process parallels the assessments that are made for the settled population.
Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS)
Our G&TAA will inform the South West Council's Regional Spatial Strategy and, in particular, the 'Single Issue Review' that ultimately sets pitch numbers for both permanent and transient Gypsy, Traveller, and Showpeople populations throughout the South West.
Along with other local authorities in the South West we have submitted our Accommodation Assessment to the SWRA, and this has formed the basis for consultation on the position within Gloucestershire.
The South West Council’s website
Further information about the G&TAA in Gloucestershire can be obtained from Paul Kenyon, Principal Traveller Services Officer at the County Council, Tel: 01452 426397 or e-mail: paul.kenyon@gloucestershire.gov.uk
