Gypsy and Traveller film to challenge prejudices

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 By Emily Twinch

A media charity has produced a film promoting the need for more Gypsy and Traveller sites.

The Rural Media Company’s DVD, Sites and Rights, features a series of interviews to try to dispel prejudices.

It starts by saying 150,000 Gypsies and Travellers live in houses or on unauthorised sites in England and Wales and that a recent audit revealed nearly 4,000 families had no legitimate stopping places, short or long.

Luke Clements, from Cardiff Law School, says in the video: ‘There aren’t enough sites and there are upwards of 3,000 families with nowhere to live.

‘Once a site has been built, people forget it’s there. If every borough council gave one or two permissions a year the problem would cease to exist.’

There are interviews with people who have changed their minds about Travellers and Gypsies, such as resident David Hilden from Warwickshire.

Since they moved in next to his home he says in the film ‘they’re no trouble at all’.

Viewers are also given a tour of Roma Gypsy Bobbie Jones’ family home.

A Communities and Local Government department annual progress report on the government’s policy of increasing site provision, published last month, concluded: ‘The current position on site delivery remains unsatisfactory.

‘It is clear that local authorities need to increase the pace at which suitable locations are identified that can be used as Gypsy and Traveller sites.’

'Why should I live by Gypsies?'

By Helen Grady
Producer, Beyond Westminster

Every year millions of pounds are spent by local councils on evicting Gypsies and travellers from illegal camp sites. The government thinks the answer is to create more authorised sites, but who should decide where they go?

Len Gridley has some problems with his neighbours. The first is that there are 1,000 of them. The second is that they have set up what has become Europe's biggest illegal traveller site next to his back garden.

"All I want is for the council to clear the site," said Mr Gridley as he showed the 8ft fence he has fitted to separate his garden from his neighbours' homes.

"Who wants to live next to a Gypsy and traveller site? My house used to be worth £500,000 and now it's worth £150,000. No one wants to live here. People have sold up at a loss just to get away."

The site is in Cray's Hill, a picturesque village in the Essex countryside, which has become the focus of a planning row that is likely to cost the local council £3m.

Illegal settlement

The site backing onto Mr Gridley's bungalow is known as Dale Farm. It is owned by Gypsies and Irish Travellers, some of whom have been living there since the 1970s.

Grattan Puxon, a spokesman for the Dale Farm Residents, said the site expanded after some families bought an old scrap yard adjoining the original site. "As the families got bigger, they believed it was a quite a reasonable idea to clean up the old scrap yard and move onto it," he explained.

But only half of the Dale Farm site has planning permission and more than 400 people are facing eviction following a ruling by the Law Lords in May.

Basildon District Council, has spent almost £1m on the legal battle to evict the Travellers and set aside another £2m to pay for bailiffs to clear the illegal section of the site.

Council leader Tony Ball said it was worth the cost, adding "It's quite clear - they are living on green belt land without planning permission. UK law says that site has to be restored to green belt. What price upholding the law? The alternative is anarchy."

But families at Dale Farm claim they have nowhere else to go. And, although they are travellers by birth, they say they need a base.

"I don't know how to read or write," said Jean Sheridan, a mother-of-four. "I've been brung up like a proper traveller - travelling from site to site and on the roads constantly, so I never got the chance to go to school and get an education.

"This is somewhere for us to live, plus somewhere for us to get our kids looked after in the lines of doctors and dentists and education and things like that."

"I'd be happy to move if they could find us another site," added a neighbour, who asked not to be named. "But nobody wants us, so where are they going to put us?"

Political dilemma

That is a dilemma politicians have been grappling with for decades. So far, a solution seems elusive. Although most Gypsies and travellers live in authorised sites, it still costs councils in England at least £18m a year to evict people from illegal sites.

The government thinks the best way to cut these costs is to create more authorised sites and is offering councils £32m each year in grants for these sites.

There is some evidence to suggest this approach could work. Kent has 17 council-run sites across the county and has slashed its eviction costs by 80%.

But other local authorities have proved reluctant even to identify Gypsy and traveller sites, never mind creating council-run ones.

In England, each region must agree how many sites each local council will set aside for Gypsies and travellers in a document called the Regional Spatial Strategy.

However, some councils are threatening to take legal action rather than agreeing, even in principle, to provide what they see as "more than their fair share."

Candy Sheridan, a Liberal Democrat councillor in North Norfolk and a member of an Irish Traveller family, said a big part of the problem is that even authorised sites are unpopular with the settled community.

"There is no ideal site," said Ms Sheridan. "I sit on a planning committee and whenever the word Gypsy or traveller comes in, you get hundreds of people coming to public meetings and everybody is goaded up to say no to planning permission.

"Councillors who have signed up to creating new sites have lost their seats. What you have to do is take the responsibility away from local politicians."

At the moment, even though councils must assess the housing needs of Gypsies and travellers and have a strategy for meeting those needs, there is no legal duty to provide sites.

Labour MP Clive Betts, a member of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee, thinks that should change.

He told the BBC: "I think a lot of local authorities would welcome a statutory duty to have to do something because at least then they can go to their residents and say, 'we have to do something, let's find the best sites'."

Extra sites

But shadow local government spokesman Bob Neil said such decisions should be made at a local level and that the Conservatives would scrap the Regional Spatial Strategy.

Meanwhile Basildon District Council is advertising for bailiffs to evict the illegal Dale Farm residents and councillors are resisting calls to provide an extra 60 Gypsy and traveller pitches as part of the Regional Spatial Strategy.

Said Coun Ball: "If every authority in the country took an additional seven pitches that would deal with the demand that's out there at the moment.

"We would take seven extra pitches. But it is inequitable that, while Basildon already provides a 100, some are not providing any."

is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday 1 August at 1100 BST. Or listen again via the BBC
Or download the programme

Should Gypsies and travellers be housed on official sites funded by the taxpayer? Who should decide where they go - councils or Central Government? Are you a traveller? Do you live near an authorised site for travellers or an illegal camp? Send us your comments by filling in the form below.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8171273.stm

Published: 2009/08/01 01:26:51 GMT

Grahame warns caution after Lamont claims possible rise in gypsy camps

Published Date: 22 July 2009

By Mark Entwistle

LOCAL MSP Christine Grahame says comments concerning gypsies made by Holyrood colleague John Lamont may border on being racist.

The South of Scotland nationalist MSP was responding to a statement issued this week by Mr Lamont, the Conservative MSP for Roxburgh and Berwickshire.

Mr Lamont claims to have highlighted a loophole in legislation which he says could see a rise in the number of gypsy sites in the Borders.

He says the Government has indicated that gypsies should be legally entitled to set up campsites anywhere in Scotland – without the fear of police interference – in order that their human rights are not infringed.

And, according to Mr Lamont, such legislation could see a situation whereby rules were vastly different between Scotland and England, leading to gypsy communities crossing the border into Scotland to take advantage of the law.

"Our communities should be afforded the same protection of public health and local amenities as down south. It's disappointing that the Scottish Government doesn't appear to take the same view.

"Different rules between Scotland and the rest of the UK could have a significant effect on border regions such as our own. I wouldn't like to think this is giving a green light to a proliferation of illegal campsites in our communities."

However, Ms Grahame warned Mr Lamont: "I would caution him on his use of language and singling out of the gypsy community as there is a danger his comments could lead to trouble and may border on being racist.

"The Scottish Borders, especially around the Kirk Yetholm area has a long and positive association with the gypsy community going back several hundred years.

"Mr Lamont should reflect on the fact that this issue was discussed at length by the equal opportunities committee at the Scottish Parliament. The committee unanimously backed the proposals now under attack by Mr Lamont."

Told of Ms Grahame's reaction to his comments, Mr Lamont responded: "This is complete nonsense. Why should the rights of gypsies and travellers take precedence over the rights of established communities?"

In a statement to TheSouthern this week, Scottish Borders Council explained it had statutory duties to meet the needs of gypsy travellers and of other members of the public, local businesses and landowners.

"Scottish Borders Council has one formally designated gypsy traveller site in the Borders (at Innerleithen) and is actively considering alternative site options to further meet the needs of gypsy travellers," said a spokesperson.

But according to the Scottish Government, concerns expressed by Mr Lamont appear to be stemming from confusion over the introduction of new temporary stop notices which are designed to allow local authorities to immediately halt unauthorised works, such as building works without planning consent.

A Government spokesman told TheSouthern that such notices cannot be used to evict people from their homes or caravans, and this fact had led to some incorrect coverage in the national press, suggesting that the measures would make it easier for travellers to set up illegal campsites.

"But this is not the case, as local authorities such as Scottish Borders Council still retain the powers they have always had to deal with unauthorised campsites and to move people on from such sites," said the spokesman.

However, Mr Lamont says there will be widespread confusion over what exactly the situation is and told TheSouthern that gypsies/travellers at St Boswells for their annual fair this month had expressed the belief that the new legislation surrounding the new notices would give them increased protection from being moved on.

Mr Lamont added: "These new notices could have knock-on consequences and it would be better to debate this issue further, instead of later having to pick apart an unholy mess of ambiguities.

Travellers hit back

A SUPPORT group for gypsies and travellers has blasted Henley Town Council’s decision not to help supply legal sites.

A spokesman for the National Federation of Romani Gypsy and Traveller Liaison Group said councillors should “come out of the dinosaur age”.

She said: “It is frustrating for us that people still have these antiquated views about gypsies and travelling people.

“We have had laws changed to protect us. People can still speak about gypsies in a very derogatory way. They would never speak like that about other people.

“Romani gypsies are an ethnic group who don’t choose their lifestyle — they have never known any other way. Gypsy people won’t change — by tradition they have an aversion to bricks and mortar.”

The Government Office for the South-East is asking the opinions of councils about providing land for travellers. It hopes that official sites would allow travellers better access to schools and healthcare, ensure that taxes and rent were collected and reduce illegal sites.

Last week, Henley councillors warned that offering parts of the town would lead to more illegal sites in the area and an increase in litter.

Speaking at a meeting of the finance strategy and management committee, Cllr Chris Pye said: “I don’t think we should be obliged to support travellers’ sites. There seem to be more and more travellers and increasing numbers of Eastern Europeans are arriving every year.

“By creating and providing more sites we are actually encouraging travellers to enter the country. Travellers, by their nature, always move on. They won’t want to stay at one legal site. They will come along for a brief time, do some roof repairs and then leave, normally dumping quite a lot of rubbish.”

Cllr Peter Skolar said: “If this scheme gave local authorities the power to remove illegal sites then I may be in favour of it but it doesn’t.

“There are already a lot of legal sites in Oxfordshire — the county council has been awarded a Charter Mark for its work — but we also have an awful lot of illegal sites.”

The Government says gypsies are the most excluded ethnic group in the UK. In June last year, there were 3,169 caravans in the South-East of which 2,466 or 78 per cent were authorised.

A government report on site provision is due next year. Locations for legal sites will then be decided by local authorities as part of their own area plans.

There are six permanent council-owned sites in Oxfordshire, providing 80 pitches, with another seven privately-run areas. The closest to Henley is The Sturt, at Oakley Wood, which has five plots.

What do you think? Write to: Letters, Henley Standard, Caxton House, Station Road, Henley, RG9 1AD or email letters@henleystandard.co.uk

Anger at travellers' camp

Travellers set up camp in a field near Newent despite a last-minute council attempt to stop them.

A dozen families arrived at the field on Friday and worked around the clock to make the site their home.

They laid a hard surface, put up portable toilets, dug a cesspit and 12 separate plots were fenced off.

It is understood the site is privately owned by one or more of the travelling community but no planning permission for residential use has been made.

The travellers insist they are using the land at Southend Lane after failing to find an adequate home elsewhere in the county.

A spokesman for the group, called Sam, said they wanted to be good neighbours.

"We are honest, law abiding citizens who just want a place to live," he said.

"We have applied to the council to give us a home on a number of occasions, but with no joy.

"We don't want to cause our new neighbours any harm and want to get on with them as anyone else would."

(MORE)

Council's hunt for gypsy pitches

25 March 2009

LANDOWNERS are being asked if they have any room for gypsy caravans.

North Somerset Council must find 36 long stay and 10 short stay grounds by 2011 and wants people to contact them if they have a potential site.

There are 42 residential pitches in six locations across the district, but the council says it will only be able to eject travellers from illegal sites if it has the extra capacity.

The unitary authority's planning chief Elfan Ap Rees said: "We have to provide these sites over the next two years - we have no choice.

"We are inviting land owners to suggest sites but only those that meet our strict criteria are likely to be considered and even those will be subject to planning approval and public consultation.

"However if there is a sensible site available we would welcome an early planning application which meets our local plan policy.

"Frivolous planning applications for traveller sites are likely be disregarded as unsuitable."

No sites have yet been proposed, but the council will have to take into account any green belt, Mendip Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, conservation sites and proximity of services.

Travellers using the sites would have to pay rent.

Anyone with a potential site is asked to telephone the council's planning policy team on 01934 426177 or e-mail planning.policy@n-somerset.gov.uk

Chaos warning over gypsy sites

chris.havergal@cambridge-news.co.uk

SNAIL-PACED bureaucracy could plunge gypsy and traveller policy in South Cambridgeshire into chaos, furious planners fear.

Hold-ups in producing a flagship strategy to identify new pitches in the district have sparked concerns travellers might have to be accommodated in the already overstretched affordable housing stock - and that sites with temporary permission will end up getting permanent consent.

Numerous sites in the area could be affected, particularly in Willingham, Cottenham, Histon and Impington.

Work on the strategy - known as the gypsy and traveller development plan document - got under way in 2006 but it is now not expected to be completed until 2011.

Consultants were employed to develop the project but were fired after less than two years because their work was not up to scratch.

It is now being produced in-house at South Cambridgeshire District Council, but members are angry about the delay.

At a meeting of the planning committee, councillors said traveller sites given temporary consent on the understanding the strategy would be ready when their permission came up for renewal might have to be given permanent approval.

And the meeting heard new developments in the Cambridge area such as Trumpington Meadows had no pitches allocated to them, when the strategy might have changed this.

It was suggested traveller families could be homed in affordable housing - but the council already has 4,000 families on its waiting list.

Cllr Sebastian Kindersley, the leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition, said waiting five years for the strategy was "simply unacceptable".

He said: "We are missing opportunities because of this. There has been no mention of it in all our growth areas where we were expecting allocations for the gypsy and traveller community."

Cllr Kindersley said developers would have to accept the need to accommodate traveller sites in their developments.

Cllr Pippa Corney said temporary permissions were already coming up for renewal in her Willingham ward.

She said: "We have got temporary consents coming up next year and the year after and I am concerned about what we are going to do with them."

Cllr Nick Wright, the council's planning chief, told members he did not think other authorities were faring any better in producing the strategy.

Cllr David Bard, its new communities boss, added: "There are reasons why this seems to take an inordinate length of time but I can assure you it is high on our agenda and we are pushing it forward as fast as we can."

Gypsy and traveller site plan in Winterbourne is refused

9:20am Monday 23rd March 2009

By Liza-Jane Gillespie

PLANNING bosses have refused an application for a gypsy and traveller site in Winterbourne.

An application had been made for the stationing of one mobile home and one touring caravan on land at Giddyend, off High Lane.

However, having deferred the decision from a meeting in January so as to allow a site visit, members of South Gloucestershire Council’s development control committee refused the application at a meeting last week.

Planning officer Helen O’Connor said: "It would be departure from normal green belt policy. This application is inappropriate development in the green belt and the onus is on the applicant to demonstrate the special circumstances that would outweigh the harm on the green belt."

The application is believed to have been made because of overcrowding at a neighbouring gypsy site owned by the same family.

The planning committee was also told that despite a shortage of gypsy and traveller sites in South Gloucestershire this site was not put forward as part of the recent Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan Document.

The planning committee refused the application because of highways concerns, which included increased traffic along Swan Lane, the unsuitable junction from High Lane onto Swan Lane and the detrimental effect it would have on safety of pedestrians and horse riders.

The committee also said the application was an inappropriate development and harmful to the green belt and that the applicant had failed to demonstrate special circumstances.

Potential gypsy sites cut from 26 to 12

Published Date: 16 March 2009

Anxious members of the public turned out for a meeting on Thursday (March 13) to hear the results of a consultation on gypsy and travellers sites.

The crowd, of around 25 people, listened as the planning committee agreed with Dacorum Borough Council staff to shave 12 areas from the list.

The decision, if agreed by Cabinet, will leave only the following as possible sites: Grovehill West, PolADVERTISEMENTehanger Lane, Featherbed Lane, Fields End Lane and Long Chaulden in Hemel Hempstead, Swing Gate Lane and Sandpit Green in Berkhamsted, Dunsley Farm and Icknield Way in Tring, The Ridings in Markyate, plus Green Lane and the airfield in Bovingdon.

The committee also suggested that avoiding land within the green belt should be made a priority.

Councillor Alan Anderson: "This is a very difficult subject and one that Dacorum has not traditionally had to deal with.

"There are a number of issues to consider but can we request that green belt land is avoided as much as possible?"

But planning senior manager Richard Blackburn told the committee that building on green belt land was viable where there was a need to do so.

He added: "The way people have responded to this consultation suggests they would like to see the sites far away from settled areas.

"By not using any green belt land the sites would be even closer to settled parts of the borough."

More than 1,800 people put their concerns into writing when possible spots for gypsy and traveller sites were announced last year as part of
a wider consultation on housing.

The plans, which would bump pitches in Dacorum up from 36 to 59 by 2031, aim to meet government targets for more homes and traveller sites.

Most letters opposing the proposals cited the loss of green belt land, as well as social issues such as integration.

Around 150 responses were excluded from the report because they were deemed racist under The Race Relations Act 1976.

The issue will be discussed by Cabinet on March 31.

Bowd land IS gypsy home target

16 March 2009

LAND at the Bowd on "The gateway to Sidmouth" HAS been targeted to home travellers and gypsies- and its owner has "expressed a positive interest" in the prospect.

The Government has ordered East Devon District Council (EDDC) to find an additional nine pitches by 2011 and the Herald reported last month how land off the A3052 is one of four sites in the region that was earmarked to fulfil the quota.

EDDC planners discussed the matter in private this week and a spokesman said:

"Land owners of identified sites were contacted to seek their views on the potential use of their land. One land owner, in respect of land at the Bowd in Sidmouth, expressed a positive interest in making his site available for future use by gypsies and/or travellers."

Development control committee members agreed on Tuesday that the council "should" now embark a full public consultation exercise on this specific site.

Members also agreed to:

- invite the public, land owners and any other interested parties to suggest potential sites, and:

- continue discussions with land-owners of potential sites; and:

- hold further discussions with the County Gypsy Liaison Officer and gypsies and - travellers themselves on gypsy and traveller needs and sites; the joint think tank meeting again to consider any additional sites that might be suitable.

Plymouth warned not to rush Gypsy site plan

Sunday, March 01, 2009, 20:08

PLYMOUTH City Council should not rush into building permanent Gypsy and Traveller sites in Plymouth, MP Gary Streeter told a packed meeting in Plympton.

The council is obliged by the Government to provide pitches for an extra 55 caravans and is considering land at Coypool, on the edge of Plympton, as well as sites at Coombe Farm, St Budeaux, and Efford Warren.

Mr Streeter, the Conservative MP for South West Devon, told a crowd of hundreds at Hele's School on Friday night: "My approach will be to encourage the council to play it long, because it is likely that this policy will disappear after the next General Election. I hope the next Government will not insist on this because feelings are running high in Westminster."
The meeting was told that the land at Coypool was owned by the Adams family trust and Cundy Farms, and that there had been no negotiations over buying it.

Patrick Nicholson, one of the three Conservative councillors for Plympton St Mary who called the meeting, said compulsory purchase was possible but the council could "get bogged down for years" in any attempt.

David Rowland, a travelling showman with Rowlands Fun Fairs, said: "I believe that the three sites they have picked are not suitable at all."
He said a site needed to be close to education and public transport.

Lesley Jones, a Woodford Infants School teacher, wanted to know where the children of Travelling families who stayed at Coypool would be educated.

"We are full and we have a waiting list," she said.

Sandra George of Lynwood Avenue in Woodford, near the proposed Coypool site, said the land did not fit the Government's criteria because some of it was greenfield land, it was steeply sloping, and it was too close to homes to allow adequate screening. She said more of the site was woodland. "Are they going to chop that down?"

David James, a Conservative councillor for Plympton St Mary, said there had been no consideration of putting sites at Sherford new town and at the new developments in the north of the city. His fellow Plympton councillor Samantha Leaves said that by putting Gypsy sites on new developments, people buying houses there would know what they were getting.

Mr Nicholson called on all residents to participate in the consultation process the council is about to launch.

"We need to use the process to our advantage and maximise Plympton's voice," Mr Nicholson said.

"This is a consultation exercise. No decision has been taken."

Gypsy camps: the facts and fiction

Friday, February 27, 2009, 06:45

KEITH ROSSITER talks to council experts Pete Aley, Bronwyn Prosser and Dave Taylor along with Cabinet member Peter Brookshaw to get their perspective on Travellers and the city’s plan for Gypsy camps.

Why should we pay for a Gypsy and Traveller camp? These people do not pay taxes and expect us to pick up the tab for cleaning up after them.

Like everyone else, Gypsies and Travellers have to pay council tax, rent and other bills. They also pay income tax on earnings. This includes those who stop on authorised local authority transit sites.

Why do we need several camps? Couldn't you just put them all in the same place – preferably out of Plymouth?

There is a legal requirement for each area to provide a certain number of pitches. We can't offload ours on the South Hams, for example. Too many people on one site can lead to tensions on the site and with the neighbours.
Who are the groups who come here?

We don't get many New Age Travellers. They tend to find a spot, usually in the countryside, and stay there. Plymouth gets mostly Irish Travellers and Romany Gypsies. We also have showpeople, who have lived at Efford Fort for many years.

What is the difference between the different groups?

A range with distinct backgrounds, cultures and traditions are recognised under race relations legislation. They include Roma, Romany Gypsies, Irish Travellers, and travelling show people, including circus folk.

Some people say that the genuine Roma are all right; it's some of the other groups that cause problems.

They've all got their own cultures and traditions, but it's too simplistic to say one group is better than another. In any community there are those who cause problems.

Is there any evidence of rising crime connected with Gypsies and Travellers?

There is no evidence for this locally. This is backed up by national research by the Joseph Rowntree Study which looked into three new sites in Scotland where the police reported no noticeable increase in crime nearby.
Perception and fear of crime are totally different from the reality.

Is there any evidence about the impact on house prices of having a permanent site near by?

We do not have any evidence of this. The Joseph Rowntree Study found that evidence on this was inconclusive.

How much will it cost to build these sites?

About £80,000 to £100,000 a pitch. Plymouth needs to provide an extra 40 residential and 15 transit pitches.

That's a lot of money. What will you get for it?

People have an image in their minds from seeing the unauthorised encampments, and they transfer that to the proper sites. We believe the new sites will change people's views. They will be as modern as a modern holiday camp. There will be hardstandings for caravans and cars, and an amenity block. The block will have a kitchen and small eating area, toilets and bathroom. There may also be a storage area for working equipment. The permanent sites may also have a playground and a grazing area for animals, plus a site office.

What will the Gypsies and Travellers get out of it?

They will have adequate accommodation and be able to avoid setting up unauthorised encampments. We will also be able to give them access to other services such as health and education.

What size are the groups who come to Plymouth?

Most encampments are four to five caravans, and usually they have children with them.

How will the travelling people use our sites?

A family might have a permanent site as a base, then go travelling for a few months of the year. Those with small children will tend to stay put for longer.

The Government is forcing this on us and the Tories are refusing to fight it, or at least trying to hold out until the next General Election. Would it be possible to delay?

Delay will only store up problems and risks. This is not just about Government requirements – it's about long term-solutions. We have significant numbers of unauthorised encampments. We need to think about everyone – local residents, Gypsies and Travellers and those who put up with unauthorised encampments. Whatever political party is in control, the housing need will not go away and nor will the issue of unauthorised encampments. Delay also means we could lose the opportunity to bid for government funding – and have sites imposed on us.

What will happen if Plymouth defies the Government and refuses to build these camps?

The Secretary of State has the power to order us to do it. If we don't, the courts can make unauthorised encampments permanent. This happened last year in West Yorkshire.

Efford people say that the old Gypsy site there was abused and wrecked. Will it be different this time?

We are keen to involve local residents and Gypsies and Travellers in the design of the Efford site so we can minimise the risks. Experience from other areas show that well-managed sites are not problematic and different to the sort of unauthorised encampments that have caused so many problems in Plymouth. See www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/ findings/housing/H201.asp for more information.

I've heard that the Government is offering money right through to 2011 to build sites. Why are we rushing into it?

The money is announced year on year, with a separate pot each year. It is extremely likely that demand will grow and if we don't get a bid in now, we are likely to get less money.

The existing permanent site at The Ride has been in a shocking state, with uncontrolled dogs barking at passers-by. How will a new site be different?
The interior of the site and accommodation is well maintained and clean. This is not readily visible to passers-by. We recognise that there have been some issues about the area around the site. This is partly due to the design and the nearness to the old rubbish tip. Noise nuisance can be a problem for all communities and there are formal channels for reporting and dealing with it.

Some people say you haven't done enough consultation over using land at Efford Warren and that the site is contaminated.

The Efford plans have been in the public domain for more than a year. According to our survey the land is not contaminated. However, we'll do more investigation before we put in a bid.

Senior Plymouth Tory attacks 'war' on Gypsy camp

Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 20:18A

LEADING city Conservative has attacked Labour councillors for declaring "war" on plans to build a Gypsy camp.

As reported in The Herald on Tuesday, Andy Kerswell, Labour councillor for Efford and Lipson, vowed to fight after the council voted on Monday to go ahead with consultation over designs for a Gypsy and Traveller site off Military Road, Efford.

"It's war," Mr Kerswell told The Herald.

But a leading Conservative has now hit back at Labour's tough stance, questioning why Labour leader Tudor Evans was not at the emergency Gyspy meeting on Monday.

Cabinet member Dr David Salter said: "After Cllr Kerswell's outburst on the front page of The Herald, I'd ask: What sort of 'war' is it when the general doesn't even turn up for the fight?

Answer: one where Tudor Evans realises he is fighting his own Government."

The Government has ordered councils to provide permanent sites.

Mr Evans said later that he was out of the county, working for the Improvement and Development Agency.

"I couldn't change my plans because the meeting was called at such short notice," Mr Evans said.

Mr Kerswell threatened to take the fight to the courts after Labour councillors walked out of an emergency council meeting, claiming it had been called in violation of the council's own rules.

They later pledged their support in the battle to stop the council building Gypsy and Traveller camps at any of the three sites identified by the council.

Dr Salter said the Labour group was ignoring the independent legal advice of the city council's chief legal officer, David Shepperd, who ruled that the meeting was legal.

Meanwhile, the council has published a new timetable for people to have their say on plans for Gypsy Traveller sites. It has been drawn up after this week's controversial debate.

The council is revising the dates for public consultation on Efford.
Consultation on using land at Coombe Farm, Mowhay Road, St Budeaux, and at the Imerys works at Coypool will now take place from March 31 to May 12.

The original consultation period was due to start on February 23 but was delayed when the decision to consult the public, made by Plymouth City Council's Cabinet, was challenged by Labour councillors.

Members of the council's Overview and Scrutiny Commission voted earlier this month to allow the consultation to go ahead.

Cllr Peter Brookshaw, the Cabinet member for Safer and Stronger Communities, Housing and Supporting People and Community Cohesion, said: "This is a chance for everyone to have their say. We welcome all comments as long as they're not racist or abusive and we'd like to hear from anyone with ideas for suitable sites which we may not have considered so far."

The consultation will include displays, officers on hand to answer questions and feedback forms.

Coypool site consultation:
Thursday April 2, 9am to 1pm: Coypool Park and Ride.
Thursday April 2, 1.30pm to 6pm: Sainsbury's car park, Marsh Mills.
Monday April 20, 5pm to 8pm: Novotel, Marsh Mills.

St Budeaux site consultation:
Friday April 24, 10am to 4pm: Kitto Centre, Honicknowle Lane.
Tuesday April 28, 5pm to 8pm: Tamarside School.

There will be displays with comment forms at St Budeaux Library and at the temporary library in the former Jobcentre at the Ridgeway in Plympton throughout the six-week consultation.

Maps and information are available on the council's website: www.plymouth.gov.uk/gypsyandtravellerssitesldf.htm

Councillors vow: "We'll stop Gypsy sites"

Monday, February 23, 2009, 21:12

ANGER at plans to create a new permanent Gypsy camp in Plymouth boiled over last night as Labour councillors vowed: 'It's war'.

The city's Labour group called on residents to fight the council 'in the highest court in the land' over plans to build a Gypsy site at Efford Warren.
And they pledged to stand shoulder to shoulder with residents in Plympton and St Budeaux, where the council is also proposing to put permanent Gypsy and traveller camps.

Furious Labour councillors walked out of an emergency meeting yesterday, claiming that the way it had been called broke council rules.

Andy Kerswell, pictured right, Labour councillor for Efford and Lipson, told The Herald: "It's war. I would go to the extent of saying it's war.

"We are prepared to take this battle to the courts. We are in discussions with residents of Woodford and St Budeaux to have a joint legal approach. Woodford residents have already collected £3,500 towards their legal costs."

Addressing a small crowd of Efford protesters outside the Civic Centre after the meeting, Chris Pattison, Labour councillor for Ham, said: "We are absolutely going to stop the sites at Woodford [Plympton] and St Budeaux."
The city council called yesterday's emergency meeting after the Labour group challenged a decision to begin consultation over the design of the Efford site.

Conservative councillors said a decision was needed urgently because there was a Government deadline of the end of June to bid for funding.
After the Labour group walked out, Conservative councillors voted unanimously to go ahead with consultation.

Outside the Council House, Mr Pattison disputed the need for urgency. He said there were two more funding periods when the council could put in bids: next year and 2011.

"We didn't rush to find a site when we were in power because there was no deadline," he said.

"Anyway, it shouldn't always be about whether this council should get its money from somebody else."

Mr Pattison urged residents not to let it rest, and to "take the campaign forward".

He called for a meeting of all three areas that face having a Gypsy site to "get together and if necessary challenge it in the highest court in the land".
He said: "What is not going to work is foisting a site on any area where there is going to be antagonism from day one."

Mr Kerswell said he would present the results of a survey he carried out to the Government within the next ten days.

Vivien Pengelly, the council leader, said later: "I am relieved we can now press ahead with our plans to bid for more than £1.5 million of Government money to cover the cost of establishing a well run, official Gypsy and Traveller site.

"There is only one ring-fenced pot of money for the South West and if we don't get a share of it then it will go to other councils.

"The Government has the power to force sites on us. If we don't get our bid in, then local taxpayers could end up footing the bill."

Ted Fry, the deputy leader of the council, said: "There is an obligation on every local authority in the country to provide appropriate numbers of sites for Gypsies and Travellers.

"In Plymouth there has been a shortfall that has to be corrected."

Ian Bowyer, Cabinet member for Budget and Finance, said: "The Labour group's action would result in long-winded debates and needless bureaucracy at great expense to the city. Efford councillors had more than 12 months to wake up to these issues but it seems they were slumbering in their beds."

He said that cleaning up after unauthorised encampments cost the city about £160,000 a year.

Some Efford residents sitting in the public gallery during the meeting expressed their anger with the council's decision.

"We have to live with them and we don't want them," Pam Andrews shouted as councillors left the chamber. "They're not coming to Efford."
Around 50 members of 16 families of Showmen live at Efford Fort, next to the planned Gypsy site.

John Lock, a committee member and trustee of the Western section of the Showmen's Guild, said he had a meeting last Spring with council officers about the site.

"They told us about their plans for a Gypsy and Traveller site in Efford," Mr Lock said. He said that a previous Gypsy site in Efford, which closed in 1975, had caused "ill feelings and social unrest".

Paul Chuwen, a resident at Efford Fort and a member of the Showmen's Guild, said: "It came down to violent confrontation."

Mr Chuwen said it was "disgusting" that council officers visited the Gypsies at The Ride, Chelson Meadow, but did not visit members of the Showmen's Guild at Efford Fort.

"Instead of creating a number of small sites, why don't they just put all the Gypsies on one big site."

See Friday's edition of The Herald for Gypsy myth-buster special feature.

Gypsy and Traveller sites to double

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 By Clara Story

North west England will have to more than double the number of sites it provides for Gypsies and Travellers under a new draft policy for the region.


The forum for local authority leaders from the region, 4NW, has begun consulting on the plan, which would compel north west councils to find another 1,250 permanent and 270 temporary pitches by 2016, on top of the 950 sites that existed in 2007.

The new draft policy, part of 4NW’s partial review of regional strategy the North West Plan, is open for wide consultation until 18 March and the final version will be submitted to central government in July.

Michael Gallagher, 4NW’s director of planning, transport and housing, said there was ‘widespread support’ for a more strategic distribution of sites – placing them according to need rather than a simple formula for each council.

He added there was an ‘urgent need’ for more suitable accommodation for Gypsies and Travellers to provide better quality of life and access to services from legal pitches.

He said: ‘It is very important to address the issue. It is part of the homelessness agenda, and why should one section of the community not have somewhere to live?’

City chief defends his stance on gypsy debate

Thursday, February 12, 2009, 07:00

COUNCIL officers will not attend public meetings called to debate Gypsy and Traveller campsites because of the need to avoid "adversarial settings", councillors have been told.

In a letter sent on the eve of today's controversial council meeting about Gypsy and Traveller campsites, chief executive Barry Keel defends himself against allegations made last week that he is trying to stifle debate.

The council's Cabinet has approved work to prepare a bid for Government money for a Gypsy and Traveller site at Efford Warren after consultation last year on whether the site was suitable.

Cabinet members also agreed to start consultation on using land at Coypool and at Coombe Farm, St Budeaux for Gypsy sites.

Both decisions have been challenged and were to be scrutinised at a special meeting in the council chamber at 1.30pm today.

Keel wrote to councillors this week saying: "I wrote to all councillors on February 5 to advise them of the need to carry out consultation on ... proposals for the allocation of Gypsy and Traveller sites....

"There has been some concern expressed that my letter implies that we are stifling comment on this very important matter. This could not be further from the truth. The city council has set, and been recognised for, its very high standards around community engagement on planning matters. The consultation programme has been designed to avoid adversarial settings which mitigate against balanced communication of the issues....

"It is in this context, and in accordance with national advice and best practice, that I have advised that officers do not propose to attend public meetings or area committees as part of the consultation programme."
Plympton councillors and Gary Streeter, the Conservative MP for South West Devon, are planning to hold a public meeting later this month.

Mr Keel first wrote to councillors last week telling them that they could not call special area committee meetings to discuss Gypsy sites, and that council officers would not be sent to any meetings called to debate the subject.

Tory councillor Peter Brookshaw, the city's Cabinet member for Communities, Housing and Supporting People, said that in recent years about 20 unauthorised camps a year have cost Plymouth an average of £6,500 each to deal with.

He said Plymouth had a statutory duty to provide pitches for Gypsies and Travellers.

Labour group leader Tudor Evans said the council has used out-of-date maps when proposing to use land at Coypool for a camp. A housing estate built to the south of the proposed site within the past two years is not shown on the maps used by the council.

Meanwhile, Mr Keel's letter spells out a programme of consultation that will be followed if councillors do not give the process the thumbs down at today's meeting. This will include:

Staffed exhibitions close to the proposed sites at:
Coypool park and ride.
Sainsbury's Marsh Mills.
Tamarside School conference room.
Kitto Centre, Honicknowle.
Novotel, Marsh Mills.

An additional exhibition at Efford Library consulting on site design. There will be four members of staff at each of these events.

Local libraries will have copies of the consultation document and feedback forms which can also be picked up from the Civic Centre. Interested persons can also ask to speak to an officer if they come into the Civic Centre.

A specific event to discuss the sites will be held with the Gypsy and Traveller community.

Upgrade for Gypsy travellers site

BBC News

A site for Gypsies and other travellers visiting Stirling is to be upgraded with security doors and improved CCTV, Stirling Council has said.

About 19 chalets will be upgraded at the site in the western outskirts of the city at Bridgend.

Cladding will also be added to the chalets to improve heat and fuel efficiency.

The work will be done after the council received £93,000 from the Scottish Government.

The site, which also contains a meeting room, can accommodate up to 18 families at any one time.

Councillor Alasdair MacPherson said: "These site improvements will go some way towards improving the health, wellbeing and security of who choose to live in Stirling.

"Gypsy travellers remain marginalised and misunderstood, and prejudice against them is rife.

"As with most racism and bigotry, it can be reflected in official attitudes that continue to this day.

"The government grant will help us to address these issues and improve the services that we provide at Bridgend."

Lack of Gypsy sites fuels homelessness

Published by traceybignall for Race Equality Foundation in Housing , Local Government , Health
Thursday 5th February 2009 - 10:21am

A quarter of Britain’s estimated 300,000 Gypsies and Travellers have nowhere legal to park and are forced to live on unauthorised sites, or choose between camping by the roadside or moving into flats and houses. These unauthrised sites and roadside encampments often result in friction between local people and travelling communities. A newly published paper on Gypsy and Traveller accommodation notes that increasing resources are being diverted to policing and eviction, with two thirds of roadside travellers who’ve been surveyed saying they’ve been evicted at least thirty times in the past five years.

Ronny Flynn, Director of Health and Housing at the Race Equality Foundation says:

“Despite the fuss and alarmism from some quarters, we are only talking about homes for 5,000 families. This constitutes only one square mile of land.”

The paper says research has found that Gypsies and Travellers live in or pass through nine out of ten local authorities in England and Wales.

The report’s author, Dr Margaret Greenfields of Buckinghamshire New University, says:

“More legal sites would help break the cycle of tension between the settled and travelling communities and result in reduced enforcement costs as the number of unauthorised encampments decreases.”

The Gypsies, Travellers and Accommodation Better Housing briefing paper by Dr Margaret Greenfields, was launched at an event hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Traveller Law Reform in association with the Traveller Law Reform Project, and Irish Traveller Movement in Britain on Thursday 29 January 2009. The paper is produced by the Race Equality Foundation and is available by visiting the Foundation's website www.raceequalityfoundation.org.uk or by contacting Tracey Bignall on tracey@racefound.org.uk.

Gypsy site safety fears for young

Monday, February 02, 2009, 07:00

CHILDREN of gypsy and traveller families face serious health risks if they are to be housed on a former North Lincolnshire tip, protestors fear.

North Lincolnshire Council has proposed building a permanent gypsy and traveller site on land at Caistor Road, Barton-upon-Humber.
But the controversial scheme has met with stiff opposition from local residents, who maintain the site is unsuitable.

About 60 concerned townsfolk attended a consultation meeting at Barton's Assembly Rooms on Friday night.

And the speakers included Cleethorpes MP Shona McIsaac, whose constituency includes Barton.

Mrs McIsaac said: "This site has been a landfill site."

She said, because of its previous use, there could be hazardous materials in the ground and there was potentially a further danger from methane gas seeping through the soil.

"As far as I am aware, nobody has ever done any tests on that land to find out exactly what is in there. Nobody has done any proper chemical analysis," she said.

Bob Moore, one of organisers of the protest group and an industrial chemist, said there was evidence of methane gas permeating through the soil, which would still come to the surface even if the top was removed.

"It's explosive," he declared, adding exposure to the gas could also lead to brain damage.

Neither Coun Mick Grant, North Lincs Council cabinet member for housing and planning, nor any other members of the lead Labour group attended the meeting.

Coun Grant, however, later said: "The council is currently consulting on proposals for gypsy and traveller sites and I would urge people to have their say through the official channels.
"The council will consider all views before making any further decisions."

Bollard to block gypsies to be built in Mayfield

Saturday, January 24, 2009, 08:00

A LOCKABLE bollard is to be placed along a stretch of road to discourage gypsies and travellers from setting up camp there.

The moveable obstruction is to be constructed halfway down the disused section of Tunbridge Wells Road in Mayfield, referred to locally as the disused spur.

The road became home to a family of travellers in November 2007, causing great concern among residents and resulting in a court ordered eviction.
This new measure, to be introduced in February, is a response to concerns from residents that such an event could happen again.

Peter Deller is a parish councillor who lives on the spur.

He said: "There have been a lot of discussions about how to prevent it happening again. I think the truth is that there is no perfect solution."
The bollards are to be built as part of an experimental order likely to last a year.

Kathryn Langley, a spokesman for the county council , said: "We've been asked to introduce these measures because of some problems we had in this section of Tunbridge Wells Road.

"Vehicles are banned, and this is being enforced by lockable bollards. Emergency services and landowners who need access are being given keys."
She confirmed that should the bollards be successful and meet with residents' approval they would be made permanent.

The travellers were eventually evicted from the disused spur in February 2008 and since then Cllr Deller has worked with East Sussex County Council to prevent a similar situation arising.

One of his major concerns is the lack of official sites available for travellers.
"The police's job in moving these people on is made considerably easier if they are in a position to say to the offender you should go to this specific place. In 2007 there was no place to send them to and that is still the case now," he said.

Cllr Deller praised the support of East Sussex's Mayfield representative Cllr Bob Tidy in getting the bollard but questioned the council's efforts to provide more gypsy accommodation.

In response, Cllr Tidy pointed to redevelopment taking place at a travellers' site in Maresfield and gave assurances East Sussex was continuing to search for suitable locations.

He said: "We have two sites that we can move travellers to. The finding of new sites is principally a district and borough council responsibility but we help and we have just received funding for five pitches on existing traveller sites in Hailsham and Maresfield."

Gypsies reprieved

Published Date: 22 January 2009

A GYPSY family has won a three-year reprieve to stay on land it owns in a Northumberland village, after a planning battle with local residents and council chiefs.

Alnwick District Council agreed on Tuesday to allow Kathleen and Terrance Lowther to remain temporarily on the site at Heatherleazes, on the outskirts of Warkworth.

The couple moved there in 2007, when their former site at Carlisle closed down.

But their problems were further compounded because their daughter Lisa Anne, who was 23 at the time, was undergoing intensive therapy for cancer at Newcastle, and they needed to be closer to her.

They initially sited three caravans on the land, which has been in Mrs Lowther's family, the Ornsbys, for more than 100 years and was formerly owned by her uncle who lived locally.

But the family faced furious objections from neighbours and plans to change formally the use of the site were refused in June 2007.

They were served a notice to quit in December, but both the planning decision and the notice to quit were overturned on appeal in August last year.

Speaking after this week's decision, Mrs Lowther — whose grandparents are buried in Warkworth — said: "It has been very hard, and we're relieved we can stay.

"We don't bother anyone, we just want to get on with our own lives in peace."

Mr Lowther, who is disabled, added: "You would think people would be more understanding in this day and age. Life is terrible when you even have just one or two people who don't like travellers."

Lisa Anne, whose cancer is now in remission, said: "All we're asking is for people to respect us and our way of life."

Under the conditions of the approval, the Lowthers are permitted two caravans on the site, which are to be moved away from houses, with parking for one van.

Warkworth's district and county councillor, Jeff Watson, said: "Local residents are as adamant as ever that this site should not have been allowed, but have accepted that it is only a temporary permission.

"They look forward to the end of the three-year permission and the site reverting back to open countryside."

Travellers Lose Eviction Court Case

12:46pm UK, Thursday January 22, 2009

Mark Stone, Sky News reporter

The Court of Appeal has ruled that 1,000 travellers living in Dale Farm in Essex can be moved on by Basildon Council.

Up to 50 families now face being forcibly removed from their homes from what is the largest traveller community in the UK, including more than 150 children.

Reacting to news of the court's decision, Dale Farm spokesman Grattan Puxon said: "We are not going to allow (our youngest) to be terrorised.

"We don't want bailiffs to come in, using force and heavy machinery around our children."

Mr Puxon described the petition as "somewhat confusing" and insisted the community would still fight for a "common sense solution".

He said the travellers would pitch at a site 50 yards south of the contested land, between Dale Farm and the A127, for the next 28 days.

From there, Mr Puxon said, they would make further legal applications.

In May 2005, Basildon Council voted to clear a large part of the settlement. It said that sections of the site had no planning permission.

The High Court rejected the decision, claiming that the council was not offering an acceptable alternative location for the travellers to live.

That was overturned by the latest ruling, meaning they will now be moved on.

"People really fear losing their homes," Joseph Jones, the secretary of the Gypsy Council of England told Sky News prior to the Court of Appeal announcement.

"They have no place to go and will end up on the side of the road." he said.

Travellers first settled at Dale Farm in the 1960s with the then Labour-run council granted planning permission for 40 families.

Since then, though, many more have settled. Most do not have planning permission to be on the land which forms part of the Green Belt.

"Everybody should be treated equally," local MP John Baron said.

The Dale Farm case has been registered with the United Nations Advisory Group on Forced Evictions. The eviction will now be observed by a team of monitors.

Travellers site inquiry under way

BBC News

A gypsy has told a public inquiry he faces life in lay-bys and on waste ground if an appeal to allow a caravan site in Flintshire is rejected.

Leonard Hamilton, 62, represented one of three families that have built a 10-plot site on land near Holywell.

The hearing in the town is being asked to consider a planning application, partly retrospective, for the land on Bagillt Road known as Dollar Park.

Flintshire council rejected it last year, on the grounds of highway safety.

The local authority also said it wanted to protect ancient woodland bordering the site, and feared it could have a negative impact on the character of the local community.


At a hearing on Tuesday Mr Hamilton said his and the other families, the Gaskins and Prices, had settled down for the first times in their lives.

The families refer to themselves as Welsh-Romany or Romany Gypsies.

Mr Hamilton said high blood pressure meant he could no longer work, and his 59-year-old wife was ill.

He also said the families' children were enjoying a stable education, both in local schools and on site.

He added: "I want my grandchildren to have a chance in life that I never had.

"My grandchildren need education.

Mr Hamilton, who described himself as a born-again Christian, moved to Dollar Park in 2007 after helping host a religious convention in the area.


He said: "I wouldn't sell my plot for a million pounds. With the help of the Lord, that's where I want to be."

Some local residents complained when the site was developed without full planning permission and there were concerns about the park's effect on woodland which borders the park and is protected.

Hugh Richards, for Flintshire council, agreed there were some elements in favour of the families, including the age and health of some of the residents and the educational needs of the children.

However, he said the planning inspector must decide whether these were outweighed by highway safety issues and the impact on the environment and the area's character.

The planning inspector, Clive Nield, is expected to visit the site on Wednesday, with the public hearing due to end on Thursday.

A decision on planning permission and any enforcement action on site is not expected until Spring.

Gypsy camp protesters warn council: 'The battle starts here'

Tuesday, January 20, 2009, 17:33

A CROWD of about 130 angry residents besieged a city Cabinet meeting to protest about plans for a permanent Gypsy and traveller camp in the city.
The residents – mostly from the Woodford area of Plympton – warned the council: “the battle starts here”.

They are fiercely opposed to a proposal to use land at Coypool for a traveller site, and say it will bring down the value of their homes nearby.
The council has identified privately-owned land at Coypool, and at Coombe Farm in St Budeaux, as potential sites, and Cabinet members yesterday approved the start of public consultation.

The protesters were joined by Efford residents fighting to keep Gypsies off land at Efford Warren, which the council identified last year as suitable for a permanent camp.

The site is a former Gypsy and traveller camp, and yesterday Cabinet members gave the go-ahead to bid for Government money to bring it back into use.

Andy Kerswell, Labour councillor for Efford and Lipson, said the council had prevented any genuine scrutiny of the Military Road proposal.

Patrick Nicholson, Conservative councillor for Plympton St Mary, said: “We will be doing everything possible to thwart the council’s proposal.

“We are bitterly disappointed that the meeting failed to address any of the concerns we all have about the site. The battle starts here, today.”

Russell Gale, of Woodford Action Group, said: “I live next to the site and all my plans for the next five to ten years are gone because of what this will do to property values.”

Clair Skelley said: “We already suffer the noise from the Speedway track at Marsh Mills, road humps and the possibility of putting an incinerator at Coypool. How much more do we have to suffer?”

It is not racist to state that gypsy camps frequently cause an increase in crime and mess - it is a statement of fact

By Harry Phibbs
Last updated at 9:22 AM on 06th January 2009

The Government has issued a decree to local Councils to provide more caravan pitches for gypsies. Their argument seems to be that people have a 'right' to be gypsies and that if councils provide more authorised sites there will be less of a problem with gypsies occupying land illegally.

This is a policy of appeasement of lawlessness. If people want to spend their lives travelling around in caravans then they must operate within the law. They should also rely on finding people willing to accommodate them - not expect special favours from the state.

(MORE)

Gypsy and Traveller sites to be set up

The government has allocated more than a third of a £21 million fund for Gypsies and Travellers to creating new sites.

Over £7 million of the 2009/10 fund, which is aimed at preventing unauthorised encampments, will be spent on new sites. These will be set up in the south west, east of England, south east, and north west. London, and the midlands will only see modifications to existing sites.

Announcing the funding junior housing minister Iain Wright said: ‘The problem of unauthorised camping and the tensions it can cause will only be tackled through sufficient provision of well-managed, authorised sites, coupled with effective enforcement.

‘Site provision helps reduce the need for enforcement action…which costs around £18 million a year.’

Steve Staines, planning worker for Friends, Families and Travellers, said much of the previous rounds of funding went on site refurbishments rather than new sites.

‘The problem is this time [with] 36 per cent going to new sites, if they’re provided by local authorities at around £100,000 a pitch, this isn’t going to provide very much of the grand total of what’s needed, so we have a shortfall that the Homes and Communities Agency needs to look at,’ he said.

He added that more creative ways of using the money should be adopted, such as those put forward in Gypsy and Traveller development plans by Epping Forest. This includes suggestions made to the HCA on introducing self builds and shared ownership on sites.

Declan Carroll, chief executive of Cara Housing Association, is expecting to receive some of the funding. He said the development of new sites is slow as many local authorities have only just finished needs assessments, and there is often local opposition to sites.

Traveller site to get cash boost

A traveller site in Leicester will have more pitches and better living conditions after receiving nearly £36,000 of government funding.

Communities minister Iain Wright said the Meynells Gorse site would be refurbished.

Leicester City Council has been awarded the cash as part of the government's Gypsy and Travellers Sites Grant.

Those living on the new authorised pitches will pay rent, council tax and all other utility bills.

Mr Wright said: "The Gypsy and Traveller Sites grant is crucial to the delivery of both new and better sites to ensure that Gypsies and travellers have authorised, decent places to live.

"The problem of unauthorised camping and the tensions it can cause will only be tackled through sufficient provision of well-managed, authorised sites, coupled with effective enforcement action."

It is hoped that the funding will help reduce the costs of enforcing against unauthorised sites, which costs local authorities about £18m a year.

£2.5m funding for work at Gypsy site

Dec 22 2008 by Neil Mckay, The Journal

A GOVERNMENT minister has announced almost £2.5m funding to improve a Gypsy site in County Durham.

East Howle site near Ferryhill will be extended and refurbished, Communities Minister Iain Wright announced yesterday. It was one of a number of successful bidders for funding from the Gypsy and Traveller Sites Grant in 2008/9 to provide new pitches to reduce unauthorised camping, and help improve conditions on existing authorised sites.

The funding will enable local authorities and registered social landlords to provide new authorised pitches for residents who will pay rent, council tax and other utility bills.

It is also designed to help reduce the costs of enforcing against unauthorised sites – it is estimated that this costs local authorities around £18m a year.

In the North East, £2.4m of Gypsy and Traveller Sites Grant has been allocated to East Howle. Mr Wright said: “The problem of unauthorised camping and the tensions it can cause will only be tackled through sufficient provision of well-managed, authorised sites, coupled with effective enforcement action.”

The funding announcement comes just over a year after a report commissioned by Durham County Council, landlords of East Howle, found that more permanent sites were needed in the county.

Additional temporary stop-overs for families ‘passing through’ the county should also be considered, it added, and Durham County Council’s six existing sites should be urgently refurbished.

Warwickshire parents remove children from school after gypsy camp is set up nearby

Dec 19 2008 by Christina Savvas, Birmingham Post

Angry parents removed their children from a Warwickshire school because they felt threatened after a group of gypsies set up camp in their village.

The travellers caused uproar when they arrived on the rural site at Darlingscott, near Shipston-on-Stour, next to the home of Olympic minister Tessa Jowell, during the Easter bank holiday.

After a nine-month battle by the local council to evict them, a three-day public enquiry into whether the camp can remain ended at Stratford-upon-Avon Town Hall yesterday.

The travellers’ families, who lodged an appeal against eviction, said they bought 16 plots on the site in October 2007 for £20,000 each. But Stratford-on-Avon District Council refused planning permission for the camp and secured an injunction to stop any more people going onto the site and halt building work.

Coun Christopher Saint said: “There was a lot of local concern when the gypsies arrived. They felt compromised by the sudden appearance and felt it created a negative impact on the community. Several parents removed children and transferred them to other schools.”

Coun Michael Hutchins, of Tredington Parish Council, added: “The junior school has had 11 children from the travelling community with potentially another 21 of school age and three pregnant mothers. If they have to take all these children in one go they would not be able to cope.”

He raised concerns about pollution, flooding and dangerous driving.

Paul Cairnes, barrister for the local authority, said allowing the site to remain would be harmful to the rural area. He said Ernest Wilson, who lodged an appeal against the decision to remove the families resulting in the public inquiry, failed to demonstrate the site would meet a need in the district as identified in the Gypsy Travellers Accommodation Assessment.

The team acting for the gypsies said they had a right to permanent residency.

Barrister Michael Rudd said: “What do you expect them to do? Move them down a mile then they move back a mile. It becomes a never ending problem. There is a clear and undisputed significant regional need for additional pitch provision. The personal need of the appellants is also recognised. The appellants perhaps unusually in such cases have attempted to engage in consultation and were ultimately forced to move onto the appeal site in a last resort.”

During the enquiry members of the gypsy community told of their desire to settle permanently on the site so they could educate their children.

Fears over gypsy sites

10:43am Thursday 11th December 2008

By Liza-Jane Gillespie

PLANS to build new gypsy and traveller camps in Pilning have been met with opposition from residents.

Almost 100 people turned out at a special public meeting this week to vent their anger at proposals by South Gloucestershire Council to build two new gypsy and traveller sites and extend an existing site in the village.

The scheme is part of a consultation into possible sites across the district for 53 permanent pitches and 25 transit pitches, which the council was told to find by central government.

The plans for Pilning are to extend an existing site on Bank Road and build a new site nearby with another on Northwick Road.

At the meeting, organised by Pilning and Severn Beach Parish Council, residents said they felt their village was being expected to take more than its fair share of sites.

Karen Widdows, 42 of Pilning, said: "If South Gloucestershire has to do this then I'd expect the entire district to have sites and not for them all to be dumped in one area. It isn't fair."

Some residents said they were concerned about the future of the village if the sites went ahead.

Simon Ball, 47, an electrician from Pilning, said: "If this does go ahead they need to guarantee proper police support to help communities like ours and proper management of the sites."

Concerns were also raised about how close the Bank Road sites would be to the new St Peter's Primary School.

Residents also complained about a lack of communication from the council.

A spokesman said: "South Gloucestershire Council has endeavoured to undertake an extensive and participative approach to engaging local communities in what is an emotive and contentious issue. To support and promote the launch of the Gypsy and Traveller DPD Towards Preferred Options consultation, we have recently undertaken stakeholder workshops, community drop in exhibitions and have widely promoted the Gypsy and Traveller DPD through local community networks and newspaper adverts. In addition a telephone advice line, supported by balanced and accurate media reporting, have all provided a full opportunity for residents to find out more about the DPD and the issues and choices that have to be made in order to respond to the Government's Direction.

"An email was sent to Peter Jackson last week inviting him or his representative to attend a public meeting at Bank Road Primary School on 8th December. This invitation was declined, but an offer to meet with three representatives from the Parish Council was put forward as an alternative. This invitation has been accepted and the position acknowledged by the Parish Council.

"Colleagues in the Children and Young People department (CYP) were fully consulted and made aware of the proposals to include sites in the G&T DPD prior to the document being considered by South Gloucestershire Council's Cabinet on 6th October. The proximity of G&T sites in relation to the new school in Pilning was not objected to in principal by CYP. Should further issues be identified, these will be fully considered following the close of the public consultation.

"The current list of proposals are those plots of land which have been put forward to the Council. In addition, not only has the Council's Property Services department searched council-owned land, subject to criteria from the Spatial Planning team, but the Council continues to have discussions with the Government about other publicly-owned land. These efforts to find suitable sites are on top of letters that the Council has written to the National Farmers' Union and utility companies.

"This is a relatively early stage of the process and some proposals will no doubt drop out of the process after the comments received in this consultation have been analysed. The difficulty the Council has experienced over the years in identifying land continues, but the Council must adhere to the Government's Direction. It is also anticipated that other proposals will emerge from the process. This position was explained to the Pilning and Severn Beach Parish Council in a recent letter.

"The majority of sites will be private for family use and any 'management' will be the same as for any other private dwelling in South Gloucestershire. Once sites have planning permission with attached conditions, planning enforcement will become easier. Only multiple pitch transit sites will have schemes of management and these will be agreed at the planning application stage."

Fresh look at gypsy site options

Monday, December 08, 2008, 07:00

A NEW consultation on gypsy and traveller sites in North Lincolnshire will begin next month.
Sites at Caistor Road, Barton-Upon-Humber, and Conesby Quarry, Scunthorpe, are to come under fresh scrutiny by the public.

The second stage of the North Lincolnshire Council consultation will run for six weeks from January 16.

Cabinet member for housing Coun Mick Grant said: "We need to know of any other potential suitable sites in Brigg, Barton or Scunthorpe."

The two sites have already proved controversial since they were selected in a consultation earlier this year.

Scunthorpe Speedway neighbours the Conesby Quarry site but staff there oppose re-opening area as gypsy site.

Promoter Rob Godfrey said: "We are putting a submission together and come January we will stand our ground and come out shouting."

For the full story, buy today's Scunthorpe Telegraph.

What do you think of the gypsy/traveller site plans? email viewpoint@scunthorpetelegraph.co.uk or comment here

Gypsy group’s warning over U-turn on traveller sites

Concern at council moves to abandon hunt for areas after public feedback

By Calum Ross

Published: December 12 2008

Democracy will have been failed if councillors back plans today to end the unpopular search for travellers’ halting sites in Aberdeen, a gypsy group claims.

The Gypsy Traveller Education and Information Project (GTEIP) is “extremely concerned” about moves to abandon the quest for four temporary halting sites in the city, in favour of expanding the existing campsite at Clinterty, near Blackburn.

The Press and Journal revealed last month that Aberdeen City Council’s political leaders were prepared to withdraw their plans after listening to public feedback.

The U-turn is expected to be supported by the strategy committee today, but the GTEIP warned councillors they may regret the move.

Jennifer Third, the organisation’s strategic co-ordinator, said in a strongly-worded letter to the committee that backtracking on the policy would represent a “complete breach of trust” with travellers who had worked with officials on the plans.

“Given that an intention to consult has already been made public, the whole democratic process required to be demonstrated and to be implemented by local authorities is being ignored.

“To prevent this happening because of ill-considered and intolerant statements and threats by groups and individuals is not democratic. To abandon the work carried out over the last three to five years because of a group of loud, prejudiced individuals could be viewed as a failure of the proper democratic process and could create a precedent that the local authority could regret in the future.”

Fierce community opposition to the previous policy of finding two halting sites in north Aberdeen and two in the south, included claims of a death threat and intimidation against Kingswells and Sheddocksley councillor Wendy Stuart last year.

Kingswells and Bridge of Don community councils have welcomed the policy change, as members believe sites identified in the areas are inappropriate.

Council director John Tomlinson said in a report: “While no one expected that there will be any local community that would welcome a halting site in their locality, it has proved extremely difficult to identify sites that have any level of acceptance within communities. Given that there has been ongoing consultation with the gypsy-traveller community since 2000, which has identified a need for short-term halting sites to complement the site at Clinterty, there will need to be positive engagement with this community not only to encourage use of Clinterty, but to regain and rebuild trust and credibility.”

Britain set for 'hundreds' of new gypsy sites

by JO STEELE - Friday, November 21, 2008

Hundreds of new gipsy camps could be built throughout Britain, it was claimed last night.

Work on some of the proposed 7,500 extra pitches - some which can hold up to three families - could go ahead within weeks, it was reported.

The government is set to announce £97million in grants for councils to provide new campsites and upgraded existing ones for travellers.

In return, the residents would have to pay rent and council tax.

Homeowners fear a 'land grab' if they refuse to sell. However, the department of communities and local government said many of the bids from local authorities would 'improve existing sites rather than create new ones'.

A spokesman added: 'It's important we have enough authorised sites for travellers to stop the vicious cycle of evictions. Councils have a range of powers to deal with any unauthorised developments and any antisocial behaviour resulting from the occupants, and we have provided clear guidance on their use.'

But shadow communities secretary Eric Pickles blamed 'political correctness' for the proposed explosion of new camps.

'Communities across the country are going to face the bombshell of having a traveller camp dumped on their backyard,' he said.

'Councils are powerless to resist these regional targets, and are being bullied into building.'

Award for work with travellers

Nov 15 2008 by Carl Butler, Daily Post

A WOMAN who champions the rights of gypsies and travellers in Gwynedd has won a top award.

Bethan Wyn Jones, Gwynedd Council’s Gypsy and Traveller Liaison Officer, is passionate about her job and her dedication has been recognised with an award for her Commitment to Diversity by the North Wales Criminal Justice Board.

Gwynedd has had a permanent gypsy site for nearly 30 years and gypsies and travellers have been part of the county’s social fabric for centuries.

The officer’s post was created two years ago.

Norfolk gipsy homes set for refusal

29 October 2008 08:48

Plans for six permanent homes for elderly gypsies at Beetley are being recommended for refusal.

The semi-detached bungalows with garages on land at The Paddocks, School Road, would be for gypsies and travellers who are over 55.

The site already has full planning permission to be used as a gypsy transit site for up to six caravans to accommodate four families, with no family being allowed to stay there for more than 18 months.

But a report to Breckland Council's development control committee states the new application by Miss S Macann does not demonstrate a substantial need for the permanent housing and the Norfolk Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment undertaken in June 2007 found there was no need for the type of accommodation proposed.

It continued: “It is considered that the proposal would result in the loss of pitches for an existing identified need for gypsy and traveller caravan pitches.

“There is a shortage of caravan pitches in the area and the loss of these pitches will exacerbate the situation.”

The application will be discussed by councillors at Breckland's development control committee meeting on Monday.

Shute Woods: Travellers appeal for tolerance

devon.editorial@archant.co.uk
22 October 2008

AS residents call for those pitched at Shute Woods to be moved on, the travellers have asked people to be tolerant and understand they are just 'surviving'.

Eight caravans pitched at the beauty spot have caused outrage in Kilmington and nearby villages, but the travellers feel people are being prejudiced and that they are the victims of discrimination.

One of the travellers, Paul, told the Herald he has had a petrol bomb thrown at him in the past.

Danny Steed spoke of stones being hurled at him and, while at Shute, Claire said people had passed by swearing.

Claire, 32, who said she comes from gypsy family but now is more 'new age traveller', said: "We're just normal people, but we don't live in a house.

"My son had lots of problems growing up and was called 'traveller kid' at school.

"He left school in the end because of the bullying and was self-taught."

Paul, 46, who has been a traveller since 15, added: "We're blamed for everything bad, from thieving to drugs, to prostitution.

"We keep ourselves to ourselves.

"We don't go looking for trouble - it comes to us."

The travellers said living at the site was a case of 'surviving' and, while they did not pay council tax, they did pay other taxes and had to work hard to get by.

Danny Steed, 33, said: "If I didn't live in a mobile home, I would be on the streets. It's just surviving."

However, he added there were attractions to living as a traveller, namely the sense of community.

"I left home at 17 and haven't looked back," he said. I've met different people, lived in different places, and now I've ended up here.

"It's like living with an extended family.

"I love the people I'm living with and we help each other out. I'm quite happy.

"We want to get on with people - some like us, some don't.

"I don't think people realise how hard it is living like this. But if people want to tarnish us all with the same brush that's their problem."

Paul added: "People who live in council houses don't know their next door neighbour. We are family."

When asked if he preferred to be referred to as a traveller or a gypsy, he said: "I'm an individual, just like anybody else."

The close-knit community is currently in mourning over the death of 65-year-old Monty, who died over the weekend.

"He will be sadly missed," said Paul. He said a wake would be held to mark his life. He told how Monty had worked for Save the Children and was known as a 'gentleman', suggesting people should not be judged by their property.

Axminster resident Paul Haywood, who has been closely following the planning application for gypsy pitches at Raymond's Hill, said: "They are easy scapegoats.

"It's tricky - they have to have somewhere to go. Sometimes they get a hard time from their own actions, but tarnished as a group with a very big brush."

During a parish council meeting at Kilmington, chairman Michael Collier said authorities were trying to move the travellers on but it was understood travellers had to be treated carefully.

Kilmington resident Ted Dutton said he did not know of anyone who was happy the travellers were there.

He said: "I'm categorically not in favour of the travellers staying there - they just ruin the site everywhere they go. They live free and don't pay taxes.

"But a lot of people are frightened to open their mouths.

"We are very tolerant and relatively decent people. We can't stop them from staying there but, if they mess the countryside, we shouldn't have to pay for it."

Devon County Council said the travellers were on land owned by the council and government guidance said they should meet travellers' and gypsies' needs, just as it does for settled communities.

A spokesperson said: "Devon County Council is working with district, borough and city councils to address the housing, educational, social and welfare needs of gypsies and travellers in Devon.

"The council is not a housing authority, but it still has statutory responsibilities to ensure that people have access to education, social care and welfare advice.

Councillor's fury over travellers' complaint

By Leanne Carter
Published: 03 October, 2008

COUNCILLORS trying to help end a local community's long-running misery over gypsy traveller camps have been warned they could be in breach of their code of conduct.

Elected members have been rapped after a travellers' group complained that councillors appeared to be supporting moves to block access to their caravans on the Speyside Way.

They have been told their conduct at a recent public meeting could be a potential breach of official guidelines because councillors must represent all sections of the community.

Councillors have also been told they must be careful about making comments at another public forum next week where unauthorised camps will again be under discussion.

The letter issued by chief executive Alistair Keddie has provoked a furious reaction from one councillor, who said the minority were ruling the majority.

Councillor Gordon McDonald organised last month's meeting in Buckie in response to dozens of complaints from residents in his ward.

They claim the long distance walking route is being left in a mess by unauthorised gypsy traveller encampments, and they want to restrict access to the area.

Councillor McDonald said: "If I am hamstrung like this, there is no way I or any other councillor can do their duty or act in the interests of their community."

Mr Keddie issued a letter to councillors after a complaint was lodged by the Gypsy/Traveller Education Information Project (GTEIP) over the conduct of members at the meeting.

In his letter, Mr Keddie did not outline the exact nature of the complaint but stated that it alleged a potential breach of the code of conduct for councillors, which has been put in place by the Standards Commission.

He said he had made investigations, and it could be interpreted that councillors were acting in a concerted manner to preclude gypsy travellers from accessing a traditional encampment area.

It has subsequently emerged that the complaint related to comments made by Councillor Allan Wright, who attended the meeting as chair of the Speyside Way management committee.

He said that he was "quite taken" by an idea mooted by the local community to create landscaped earth mound embankments to act as a barrier, adding that steel barriers would not be attractive.

That, complained the GTEIP, indicated that he supported the notion of blocking off the Speyside Way to travellers' caravans.

Councillor McDonald said he was disturbed by the implication that councillors could be reported to the Standards Commission for simply trying to help their constituents.

"I accept and appreciate the rights of the minority, but my definition of democracy is that it is the majority opinion that counts, and the residents there have made it abundantly clear to me and to others that they want something done about it," said Councillor McDonald.

"The residents wanted me to do something about it and in arranging that meeting to discuss a way forward, I acted in the best interests of my constituents to try and solve the problem.

"I came away from that meeting with the feeling that it had been a fairly constructive meeting, so this letter came as a complete surprise, especially because it did not specifically name who the complaint was against or what had been said. I assumed that I was in the firing line because I had arranged it, I chaired it and I did most of the talking.

"I understand that no one from this travellers project attended the meeting and they based their complaint on what they had read in the papers.

"I also understand that they complained that they had not been invited to the meeting, but this was a public meeting and if they were there they could have had their say, just as everyone else did.

"The situation on the Speyside Way has to be treated differently from any other unauthorised encampment, because it is a major tourist attraction and we cannot allow it to become a mess. It's a gateway to Buckie and very important to tourism, and that's what makes this situation unique."

Councillor Wright said elected members quite often found themselves in a position where they had to be careful in their comments, particularly in regard to issues such as planning.

"We do have to be careful at times, but I must say that this one came as a surprise to me. However, an official complaint has been made and the chief executive has had to react to that," he added.

More than 50 members of the public attended the meeting, where it was agreed that council officials would draw up plans to give the area, which spans along the foreshore from Portgordon to Buckie, a facelift.

An application for Euro-funding has been made to carry out the work, and some cash may also be available from the Buckie Town Partnership.

A meeting to discuss problems with unauthorised encampments in the Garmouth area is due to be staged on Monday evening, and in his letter to all elected members, Mr Keddie has reminded them about their duty to observe the code of conduct.

Councillor Douglas Ross, member for the Fochabers Lhanbryde ward, attended last month's talks, and will be at the meeting in Garmouth.

He said: "I certainly do not remember Councillor Wright saying anything at that meeting that could cause offence to the group, and I did not have any concerns about anything councillors said.

"The chief executive, however, received a complaint and he had to deal with that in an appropriate way.

"I will still try to be as open as possible with those at the meeting in Garmouth, but will be mindful that people are now watching what councillors are saying in regard to this issue."

A spokesman for Moray Council confirmed that a complaint had been received from the GTEIP. He added: "Elected members have been alerted to the situation and, in the circumstances, have been reminded of the terms of the code of conduct for councillors."

No one from the GTEIP was available for comment.

New gypsy site has no support

Published Date: 12 September 2008
By Alan Brook

VILLAGERS, councillors and travelling people themselves say they do not want the council's choice for a new gypsy site – which has been described as being "like a concentration camp".

Due to health and safety fears over possible leeching gases, East Riding of Yorkshire Council wants to use £1.4 million to replace Bridlington's Woldgate travellers' site which is on top of an old landfill area.

Their alternative is a larger area – the busy Grindale Lane country road – which is part of the council's network of scenic tourists routes.

But locals and those in neighbouring villages who use the route, and residents of Bridlington's nearby New Pasture Lane estate, say it is a nonsense to put it there.

Two local East Riding councillors, Bridlington town councillors and even the Woldgate travellers themselves are against the idea and say the council should look elsewhere for a replacement.

Bridlington Town Council's planning committee has rejected the plan as conflicting with the Wolds landscape on a designated scenic route and it would not give travellers what they need.

They said travellers themselves claim it would isolate them from shops, schools, public transport and medical and other services and there are no facilities for keeping horses.

(MORE)

Going for gold: young Gypsy keeps up a family tradition

Esther Addley
The Guardian
Monday August 4 2008

Like many of the athletes departing for China ahead of the Beijing Olympics, Billy Joe Saunders had an emotional send-off from his home. "There were about 30 car loads of my family and friends who came to see me. They've got England flags all over the place. It was crazy," he says.

But while he describes his upbringing as "really normal", home for the 18-year-old welterweight hopeful is not entirely conventional. Saunders comes from a Romany Gypsy family and lives on a Travellers' site near Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

Saunders's older brother, Tom, is a professional cruiserweight, and his father also boxed in his youth, but perhaps the proudest family members will be his great grandfather on his mother's side, Absolom Beeney. Now 95, as a young man Beeney was a champion in the travelling fairground boxing booths, stepping up, as his father, also Tom, puts it, "whenever he needed some beer money".

Tom Saunders Sr believes his son may be the first Gypsy to represent Britain at an Olympics, having taken it up at seven when his older brother, who was being bullied in part for being a Traveller, asked his dad to take him boxing.

But his family background may in fact be the least remarkable part of Billy Joe Saunders's story. Saunders was originally singled out by the British head coach, Terry Edwards, as a potential medallist for the 2012 games, one of a strikingly talented generation of British amateur boxers that has led Saunders, without irony, to predict that by the time of the London games Britain will be "the new Cuba" of boxing.

Expectations may have been low for Saunders, but he thought differently. After winning 49 fights in a row, he edged out the experienced British team captain Neil Perkins, who fights in his weight class.

"They had to give me my chance to qualify, I felt," says Saunders. "I boxed the No1 Cuban, I beat him, I boxed the No1 Russian, the European champion, beat him. I had to get my chance to be there, and when I got it, I took it."

Having won gold at the Commonwealth Federation championships last year, gold at the European Junior championships and a further gold, last month, at the European Union championships, some insiders are tipping Saunders as heavily as his teammate Frankie Gavin, the lightweight world champion and one of Britain's best hopes for gold.

"Given a fair wind and a bit of luck every one of the team could do as well as Frankie," says Edwards. "Billy Joe is the youngest member of our team, but in age terms he is very, very mature, he's a tough lad. We'd first identified him as a 2012 athlete, and he still is - we're right on course for that. The difference is that he may well be defending his gold medal in 2012."

For Tom Saunders, his son's presence in Beijing is a welcome opportunity to correct misconceptions about their culture. "We are true Romany Gypsies, that is what we are. If you go two, three generations back, to your great, great grandfather, he's most probably seen our people, with the horse-drawn wagons, selling the old wooden pegs and things like that. That's what the majority of people in this day and age don't understand."

"There's good and bad in everybody," agrees Billy Joe, "and you can't tar all Gypsies, or Travellers, with the same brush. I just need to get out there and prove to everybody that we're not all the same." Most of all, he'd love to be a positive role model, he says - to his adored one-year-old son, Billy Joe junior, and to his peers. "I would love it to be that I could get young kids off the street and into the gym. Help them out. I would love to think that I could do that."

Does he hope his son, too, will follow the family tradition and take up boxing? "It's completely down to him. If he decides he wants to take the boxing route he can, and I will be supporting him all the way, same as my dad did for me."

Gypsies claim racial bigotry

By Joe Ware

GYPSIES who are fighting to keep their community at Minety have been treated with hypocrisy by council bosses, an inquiry heard this week.

The second public inquiry into the unauthorised building work at the site in Sambourne Road, heard by planning inspector Karen Ridge, got under way at North Wiltshire District Council on Tuesday.

Gypsy families were among those attending the inquiry, with Minety residents who have fought the development.

Representing the gypsies, Alan Masters said his clients want the same treatment as Minety residents. He said: "The Minety travellers have been victims of hypocrisy.

"The village of Minety is deemed as an area suitable for development by the council but the nearby appeal site is not.

"The gypsies have settled in the area and their children attend local schools. The council's approach is a failure to follow the Race Relations Act."

Earlier Mrs Ridges called for respect and outlined the main point of the investigation. She said: "This is a planning inquiry not a public meeting. I'm aware the subject is emotive but please do not interrupt or shout out. Please be respectful. This inquiry is here to determine the effect of the development on the local area given the nature of its affects on neighbouring parties."

Saira Kabir Sheikh, representing North Wiltshire District Council, said: "The appeal scheme does not represent a sustainable form of development. The development is significant in size and is unduly intrusive in the countryside.

"The scheme causes significant harm and has a detrimental impact on the character and amenities of the countryside. The scheme is also harmful to adjoining residential property."

Most of the opening morning was taken up with the cross examination of planning expert Simon Chambers, the council's sole witness.

He said: "As stated I believe there has been no physical change in the circumstances since the previous appeal was assessed and there has been substantial progress towards the assessment of gypsy and traveller accommodation needs and potential delivery of sufficient land to accommodate that need.

"There are a number of factors contributing to the unsustainability of the appeal site compared to the village.

"One of the reasons is village residents have better access to transport links whereas the appeal site is isolated making access to public transport much more difficult."

10:56am Thursday 10th July 2008

Row erupts over park gypsy camp

A row has broken out over a decision by Powys council to locate a temporary gypsy camp in the Brecon Beacons National Park.

The park authority has accused the council of a "flagrant disregard of planning policy" and may consider legal action over the site near Brecon.

A permanent camp is planned nearby, but the council wants to locate 12 caravans at a small holding until that is ready. It said it would apply to the park for retrospective planning permission.

The site under dispute is in an area known as Cefn Cantref.

At the moment the family of gypsies live in a lorry and coach park in Brecon, having recently moved from a lay-by in nearby Libanus.

Powys council said it had agreed in principle to create a permanent site for the family at Llanfilo, near Brecon, and a report about the project was expected to go before councillors in September.

In the meantime, the council said the lorry and coach park was not a suitable and it had decided to move the family to Cefn Cantref temporarily.

(MORE)

Rolls-Royce objects to plans for gypsy camp

ROLLS-ROYCE has objected to Derby City Council's plans to create a permanent gypsy camp on its land.

The company's message came in a damning letter calling the selection of its disused car park in Russell Street, Osmaston, flawed.

And it said locating a travellers' site on the land could scupper regeneration of the area.

But the council said Rolls-Royce's objection did not mean the end of the project.
A Rolls-Royce spokesman said the company objected because it believed there were more suitable locations for a travellers' site in Osmaston.

He said: “Our strategy has been to fully engage with the city council over sites in the area.

“Our view is that we have to look at opportunities in Osmaston strategically and as a whole.”

The letter was sent to principal planning officer Ian Woodhead from Rolls-Royce consultants Scott Wilson in response to the submission of a planning application for the site late last month.

The letter says: “We are concerned that the process of site selection was fundamentally flawed.

“The initial shortlist of sites considered by your own consultants, Cdn Planning, did not include the Russell Street site. This site was added later into the evaluative process.

“Progressing the site selected by the council will create a negative effect on the release to the market of the Osmaston Road site and other land in the area.”
Members of Action Group Osmaston, formed by residents in the area, said they were pleased with Rolls-Royce's objection after campaigning against the permanent site since it was first suggested in October.

But chairman Chad Foster said he would not celebrate until the plans were officially shelved.

Mr Foster, 53, of Handel Street. said: “It isn't over until the fat lady has sung. The Rolls-Royce letter encapsulates our objections.

“Osmaston needs regenerating and it now has an opportunity to do so because of the Rolls-Royce site being up for use.

“The fact is that there is a negative perception of travellers' sites and that people will not invest in the area if a permanent site is going to be there.”
A council spokeswoman said the authority was still discussing the site with Rolls-Royce.

She said: “It would be inappropriate to comment on the content of the letter. We're still confident of achieving a successful resolution for all parties.”

The council looked at four possible sites in Osmaston but chose Russell Street as its preferred option because, among other reasons, it was close to Glossop Street, Osmaston, where gypsies have been living without permission since October 2004.

The council would pay for the scheme with £1.4m given by the Government to create a camp in the city, which according to former council leader, Chris Williamson, would be transferable if an alternative to the Russell Street site was needed.

North Wiltshire MP launches gypsy law petition

By Gary Lawrence
Gazette & Herald

North Wiltshire MP James Gray is launching a campaign to stop the government forcing councils to provide dedicated gypsy sites.

"I simply don't understand why gypsies and travellers should be treated under planning law in a different way to any other citizen," said Mr Gray , speaking at the launch of his petition against the current traveller law, in Chippenham this morning.

"North Wiltshire District Council is being required by law to spend £250,000 of taxpayers' money, against massive local opposition, to provide an unwanted and unnecessary gypsy encampment somewhere in North Wiltshire.

"There are two reasons for this: first, the Government have insisted on a needs survey', which is an absurd exercise in such a setting, to provide more gypsy encampments in North Wiltshire. But with large numbers of gypsies in Ireland, Romania and elsewhere just waiting to come to these shores, how is anyone supposed to know how many sites to provide? Surely there is at least a risk that by requiring local authorities to build these sites, you are in fact issuing an invitation to gypsies, of all kinds, to come to North Wiltshire.

"And second, it is likely that unless North Wilts District Council opens such a site, the Inspector who will shortly be considering the illegal site at Minety, will allow the gypsies to remain there. That too seems to me to be quite wrong, since it will be an invitation to travellers everywhere to follow the lead of those at Minety, and set up illegal encampments in the hope that it will force the local authority to give them expensive permanent sites.

"This petition therefore asks the Government to repeal the Act which places these unreasonable and unachievable demands on the District Council."

The Humble Petition of the residents of North Wiltshire, being concerned about permanent accommodation for gypsies and travellers, petition your Honourable House that they should be treated under planning laws in precisely the same way as all other citizens and, believe that the requirement on local authorities for a needs assessment is misplaced, as there can be no scientific census of the European gypsy and traveller population.

Wherefore your Petitioners pray that your Honourable House request that the requirement on local authorities to provide new gypsy and traveller encampments should be repealed."

11:14am Saturday 31st May 2008

MP expresses concern over gypsy sites

By Gazette Reporter

North Wiltshire MP, James Gray, has written to North Wiltshire District Council expressing his concerns over the current consultation with regard to the proposed permanent gypsy encampments within the constituency.

In his letter, Mr Gray said that "The Government have set North Wiltshire District Council an unachievable task, namely to assess the need for such sites (unachievable since neither you nor anyone else has any means of knowing how many gypsy caravans may arrive in the county at any one moment); and then to make provision for permanent sites for those hypothetically arriving gypsies."

Mr Gray also commented that "The whole exercise seems to me to be sending out the wrong messages to the gypsy community as a whole. Those who may be contemplating breaking planning law in the way that those at Minety have done will be encouraged to do so on the grounds that it might lead to some other permanent site for them; and being forced by a foolish Government policy to build new gypsy sites in the way that is proposed will simply invite gypsies from as far as away as Ireland and Romania to come to Wiltshire."

3:21pm Friday 23rd May 2008

Judge stops demolition of Essex Travellers site

Jo Siedlecka

More than 50 Gypsy and Traveller families in Essex won a High Court fight on Friday, to stop the local council from evicting them.

The families bought the green belt land at Dale Farm, Billericay and Five Acres Farm, Wickford, about ten years ago. It had previously been derelict or used for storing scrap metal. The families pay council taxes and have gradually built up semi-permanent homes there. But they do not have planning permission.

Basildon District Council has been trying to evict them for several years. Last December, the council decided to use section 178 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, to enter the land, evict the residents and demolish their dwellings. This would have left them homeless, and the council would not have been able to offer alternative accommodation.

In a 26-page judgment, Mr Justice Collins said the eviction order could not stand and he ordered more time to investigate concerns on the needs and welfare of the families. He drew attention to the high degree of prejudice faced by Gypsies and Travellers and the discrimination they have suffered at the hands of local authorities. (There has also been a very one-side campaign in the local press and the Daily Mail). Judge Collins said sick and vulnerable persons, and children attending school had not been given proper, individual consideration, nor had anti-racist legislation been fully complied with. Any future decisions by the Basildon council would have to be based on these and other considerations, he said.

The judge warned the residents they would not be able to stay on the sites permanently, but said: "I think that the approach has been that the sites should be cleared, rather than a consideration of whether there are any individual families whose circumstances are such that in their individual cases eviction would be disproportionate."

Judge Collins gave the council permission to appeal against his decision, saying the case raised "important points" over what appeared to be the "insoluble problem" of providing sites for Gypsies and Travellers.

Traveller spokesman Grattan Puxon said in a statement that the ruling "represents a major legal victory for Britain's long harassed Gypsies and Travellers, many of whom have in recent years seen their homes mercilessly bulldozed. "

"This is a wake-up call to all councils," said Dr Keith Lomax, the solicitor representing Dale Farm's 132 households, comprising chalets, mobile-homes and caravans. "Those that don't provide legal living space will find they can't rely on enforcement powers."

A meeting of the Gypsy Council has been convened for 10 June at Dale Farm to consider the implications of the judgment.

Father John Glynn, Parish Priest at Our Lady of Good Council in Wickford, told ICN last night: "This judgment is a welcome stay of execution. The great thing is that it draws attention to the situation of these individual families. I hope this will now lead to a proper dialogue between all the parties."

Father John said the local Churches, have offered to help bring the sides together for talks.

On Friday, the Bishop of Brentwood, Bishop Thomas McMahon, the Anglican Bishop of Chelmsford, Bishop John Gladwin, and other Catholic and Church of England clergy visited Dale Farm, where a small cabin was opened recently to be used as a chapel and community centre.


Source: Roma News Service/ICN

© Independent Catholic News 2008

Official site for gypsies would have 'benefits'

By Melanie Vass

BOURNEMOUTH residents have been urged to "consider the benefits" of the official traveller and gypsy site proposed for land at Longham.

The recent arrival of a group of travellers at Turbary Park could have been prevented if Bournemouth had an authorised camp to direct them to, council officers claim.

The council is currently going through the legal process to evict the group of travellers, who are sited in a sensitive conservation area.

But Sue Bickler, the council's head of strategic services, said: "This current situation just highlights the need for an authorised traveller and gypsy site in the town.

"By having a dedicated site with decent facilities, this situation could have been avoided altogether as the travellers would be able to go directly to the site, preventing them from pitching up on other, less suitable or equipped areas of the borough.

"Were travellers to disregard this transit site and stay in an unauthorised area, the police powers to move them on will be greatly enhanced from the current situation.

"In addition, taxpayers' money would also be saved on eviction and clear-up costs that have sometimes occurred in the past, following illegal encampments."

But it is not just residents the council needs to convince - the National Romani Rights Association claim the proposed site is completely unsuitable for human habitation.

Basil Burton, chairman of the association and former Gypsy Liaison Officer for Dorset County Council, has written to Secretary of State Hazel Blears and Claire Cooper, the head of the Gypsy and Traveller Unit, urging them to intervene.

Consultation over the proposed site adjacent to Ringwood Road near the bridge over the River Stour is due to start in June.

The council then intends to make a final bid to the Government for funding in July.

7:00pm Friday 11th April 2008

Gypsy shock for towns

12:01 - 10 April 2008

PROPOSED gipsy and traveller sites in Comet country may be moved closer to towns away from villages.

Cabinet members at North Herts District Council (NHDC) decided on Tuesday night to explore the possibility of abandoning sites currently earmarked for rural areas and move them close to towns like Hitchin, Letchworth GC and Baldock.

Mid Beds District Council (MBDC) also said it would consider sites near towns but Stevenage Borough Council (SBC) say it is not considering any new sites.

Councillor F John Smith, leader of NHDC, said: "We are looking at possible alternatives to our present rack of sites, and planning officers will report back to cabinet in June.

"Then we could rule out rural sites but we need to complete the consultation programme into the sites which have already been recommended by Government.

"Once that has been completed we can then consider other options.

"Depending what planning officers report back to us, it is possible some sites could go on the outskirts of towns because these settlements provide amenities such as schools.

"We will make no recommendations until our June meeting other than saying we are looking at alternatives on the fringes of urban areas."

A spokesman for MBDC said: "We are still consulting local people about possible sites but some of these are on the edge of our small towns. If further edge-of-town sites are put forward, we would consider these as possible options."

SBC said in a statement: "We don't yet have any plans for new pitches in the borough. When new pitches are provided we anticipate providing them at the existing Dyes Lane site, although there is limited potential there."

Chairman of Pirton Parish Council David Saunders said: "Perhaps we will soon be getting back to living a normal life in the village.

"Ninety-nine per cent of people here are against this plan for the village."

Councillor Sheila James, of St Paul's Walden Parish Council, said: "We would be delighted if we were taken off the list of sites being considered."

The current sites in Comet country are on land close to Stevenage Rugby Club; Preston Hills, Whitwell; Lilley Bottom Road, St Paul's Walden; Holwell Road, Pirton; West Drive, Arlesey; Arlesey Road, Stotfold; Kennel Farm Holdings, Biggleswade and St Albans Road, Codicote.

Both NHDC and SBC were among six councils in Hertfordshire including the county council who commissioned a report by consultants Scott Wilson into potential gipsy and traveller sites in their individual area.

It followed a recommendation from the East of England Regional Assembly that 1,180 new gipsy and traveller pitches must be found in the region with 99 in Bedfordshire and 115 in Hertfordshire by 2011.

Troubled gypsy site rescued by generous goverment payout

TRAVELLERS are delighted they have finally received a grant to improve facilities on two sites after being "neglected" for years.

Bromley council were succesful in their bid for government money, receiving £468,451 for Star Lane caravan site in St Mary Cray and £369,869 for Old Maidstone Road, Sidcup.

The Star Lane site had no electricity for three years following of an arson attack. Power was finally restored in October last year.

Work is expected to begin in June and will include the repair and extension of the two sites with refurbishment of amenity facilities, repairs to broken fences, site clearance

and traffic calming.

Artist and traveller, Lucy Smith, 44, of Star Lane, said: "We're obviously absolutely delighted and thrilled that we have finally got some money and that the funds have been awarded our way.

"It was terrible when we were without electricity for so long. It was really depressing, we've definitely been overlooked and I'm glad the site is being rescued."

Mother-of-four, Mrs Smith, believes work has been slow because contractors are afraid to enter traveller sites.

She said: "They seem frightened to come in, but it's just their imagination running away with them, thinking that they might have things stolen and so on. People don't understand travellers, it's a taboo. They tar everyone with the same brush thinking we're lary and want something for nothing.

"This is a lovely situated site and there is huge potential here. There are very few problems. It's quite safe and I let my children play around here. We have been neglected but we're excited for the future and getting the site back to how it should be."

Mrs Smith dismissed claims that gypsy travellers contribute nothing to the local economy.

She said: "Many travellers own their own property and pay ground rates. We send our children to schools and work as well."

A condition of the grant, which comes from the Department for Communities and Local Government, is that Bromley council provide 25 per cent of the money which amounts to £150,000.

Project worker at the Bromley Gypsy Traveller Project, James Bellsham-Revell, is also delighted with the payout.

He said: "It's great that at last they've been given some money, it's wonderful but it's taken a long time. It's vital that there is investment in infrastructure on traveller sites and that plans are progressive. The sites have not been a priority for the government.

"There is a deep-seated prejudice against gypsies but many people are completely ignorant. There is no way people would say the same things they do about black people or Asian people as they do about gypsies.

"But travellers and gypsies are recognised as a distinct group in the Race Relations Act 1976 and it's about time the general public did also.

Villagers oppose gypsy site - and so do gypsies

FORCING travellers to live in isolated villages amounts to "social suicide", says a leader of the gypsy community.

More than 250 sites must be found in the region following a decision by the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) on Friday - including some near small villages like Barkway in Hertfordshire.

Hughie Smith, president of the Gypsy Council (Romani Kris), said they had not been consulted and described the proposals as "forcing gypsies into areas where they do not want to be".

He said: "This is tantamount to social suicide, and a complete waste of time and public money.

"I am deeply concerned that no attempt has been made to consult with ourselves, or even to seek our input."

Paul Danter is the landlord of the Tally Ho pub in Barkway, and spokesman for the team of 12 villagers who scrutinised the controversial plans.

He said North Hertfordshire District Council (NHDC) and EERA would have no alternative but to review the methods they have used.

NHDC has been asked to provide 15 plots for travellers, and locations put forward in the Royston area include sites in Barkway and Sandon.

The group claims farmers who own the two 50-acre sites in Barkway have indicated they do not wish to sell, meaning - if they are chosen as the preferred options of NHDC - Compulsory Purchase Orders would be needed for the plans to go ahead against their wishes.

If the full allocation of plots was sited in the village, it would mean more than 50 travellers swelling its 600 population.

It has no doctor's surgery, shop, Post Office or bank and just a small infant school. The nearest GP is three miles away and the nearest hospital 12 miles away.

A report by Barkway resident Dr Robert Davidson states: "Proposing travellers' sites in a rural area like Barkway makes no sense.

"The village is far from the amenities and type of location that this minority group has requested and needs."

Campaigners also criticised the £40,000 Scott Wilson Report commissioned on the matter by NHDC, which included incorrrect locations and inaccurate descriptions.

Councillor F John Smith, leader of North Hertfordshire District Council, said it would not comment on individual sites until its consultation process has ended.

But he admitted: "Ours is one area which they don't want to be in, but we still have to carry on with the process as required by Her Majesty's Government. It doesn't mean we are doing it with joy in our hearts."

Royston's MP, Oliver Heald, has received scores of complaints from concerned residents and added it was "obviously wrong" to force travellers into areas where they do not wish to be.

In Cambridgeshire, 233 extra pitches must be created by 2011.

Councillor John Reynolds, EERA chairman and a member of Cambridgeshire County Council, said: "Traveller and gypsy organisations have been contacted about the overall plans from the EERA point of view, and are engaged in the consultation process."






Published: 31/01/2008 09:24:58