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Resources > Global Issues > UK Travellers and... > Reports from Dale... > Evictions Continu...

Evictions Continue as Government Consults with Gypsies About Legal Site Provision

Dale Farm News #1, March 21, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Don’t wait to provide sites” says Chairman

Essex, U.K. March 21, 2008.  The East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) has urged Gypsies and Travellers to join the discussion about finding new land for authorized sites in the East of England, and urged local councils to start finding land immediately and not wait for 2011, the final date set by the government.

The EERA invited representatives of the Gypsy and Traveller community to Cambridge on Wednesday to discuss the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS). The RSS calls on councils to identify new land for sites by 2011 and will set out the number of sites expected from each local authority in the region.

EERA representatives pointed out that there are 1,000 unauthorised sites in the East of England, compared to 3,000 authorised. They agreed that a high level of unauthorised sites in a district were an indication of the pressing need for more sites. EERA officials emphasized that local councils should not wait for the RSS before providing sites and urged local councils to start identifying appropriate sites immediately.

 “We do not wait to house any other segment of society - why wait to house Gypsies and Travellers?” asked Richard Bennett, who chaired the consultation and also serves as Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Task Group on Gypsies and Travellers. “Do it now!” he said.

Mr. Bennett added that it was “absolute nonsense” to evict Travellers from one unauthorized site just to move them on to another unauthorized site.

Adrian Cannard, Head of Regional Planning and Housing for the EERA agreed that local authorities should provide additional pitches to meet this need as soon as possible.  In addition, local authorities should plan for a 3 percent per annum increase in site provision over and above the final RSS numbers.

Encouraged to comment on the proposed strategy, most of the community speakers told of ongoing evictions, with many families still losing their homes, even as the RSS was mandating that local councils provide additional sites. 

Richard Sheridan, chair of the DFHA, said the greatest worry was caused by threats of eviction hanging over hundreds of families, including those at Dale Farm. He also told afterwards how his own sister and her family, with others, are facing the destruction of their home at Smithy Fen, Cottenham, not far from Cambridge.

“We want councils to designate land where we can be guaranteed planning permission,” Sheridan commented. “Private mobile-home parks work much better than council-owned sites, though council sites are needed too.”

While the EERA representatives could not comment on specific eviction operations, they did say that councils that refused to identify appropriate sites under the RSS would be subject to the compulsory powers of the Secretary of State. They also said that the EERA was already prioritizing certain “problem” councils for additional attention.

Claire Cooper, head of the Gypsy and Traveller unit for Communities and Local Government, said that local councils must either provide well organized and managed sites or suffer the continuing costs of dealing with unauthorized sites.

Ms. Cooper said that the central Government has set aside £97 million for the 08/09-10/11 fiscal years for site provision. “It is in everyone’s interest to address the shortfall in accommodation (for Gypsies and Travellers). There is absolutely no reason for local authorities to wait for the RSS to give them a specific number before providing sites.”

Underscoring the need for a new strategy, Chairman Bennett said that it was “appallingly difficult” for Gypsies and Travellers to get planning permission for sites they own, thus leading to a high level of unauthorized development on privately owned sites. “It is a fact that where there are properly managed sites, (Gypsies and Travellers) live in harmony with the local community,” he added.

Michael Hargreaves, Head of Regional Planning, Government Office – East of England, said that the planning system has been used against the Travellers, and that the point of the RSS was to start making it work for the Travellers.

Chairman Bennett stressed that from a local government point of view, there should be no difference between providing bricks and mortar dwellings for settled residents and providing pitches for Gypsies and Travellers.


For further information contact:

Richard Sheridan ()
0774 7417711

or

James Dasinger
0793 1830665

Dale Farm Housing Association
Billericay, Essex, CM11 2YH
dalefarmap@googlemail.com

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