Provision for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople

ramework. HOU4 - Provision for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople 1) The council’s Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (July 2025) sets out that there is a need for 37 pitches for Gypsies and Travellers who meet the definition set out in the PPTS and a need for 6 plots for Travelling Showpeople who meet the planning definition set out in the PPTS. 2) When considering planning applications for sites/yards for Gypsies and Travellers or Travelling Showpeople, a criteria-based approach will be used. The following criteria will be taken into account: a) Avoid areas at risk from all sources of flooding, or affected by environmental hazards that may affect residents’ health or welfare; b) Avoid causing an adverse impact on areas of recognised wildlife, heritage or landscape importance, and on the openness of the Green Belt; c) Have reasonable access to local services and facilities, including shops, schools and healthcare; d) Be well located to the highway network, with safe and convenient vehicular and pedestrian access to the site/yard; e) Sites/yards should be suitably designed and the layout include sufficient space to accommodate the proposed number of caravans, provision of day rooms, space for tourer caravans, landscaping, SuDS mitigation, biodiversity net gain, vehicles and ancillary areas as appropriate. Where appropriate, adequate on- site facilities for parking, storage, waste collection, play and residential amenity should be provided; f) The site/yard must be capable of being adequately serviced by drinking water, utilities and sewerage disposal facilities; g) The size and scale of the site/yard, alone or in combination with other nearby traveller sites or travelling showpeople yards, respects the size and density of the local settled community and does not dominate the nearest settled community; h) Provide adequate levels of privacy and residential amenities for occupiers and not result in significant harm to the amenities of any nearby occupiers; including being able to achieve a reasonable level of visual and acoustic privacy for both people living on the site/yard and those living nearby; i) The circumstances of the applicant and their need for pitches/plots on the application site. 3) Existing Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople sites/yards will be safeguarded unless there is no longer a need for their retention, or they are no longer viable. Reasoned Justification: 5.61 The NPPF sets out that within the context of establishing need (housing), the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community should be assessed and reflected in planning policies and specifically refers to travellers as one of these groups. 5.62 The PPTS states that the Government’s overarching aim is to ensure fair and equal treatment for travellers, in a way that facilitates the traditional and nomadic way of life of travellers while respecting the interests of the settled community. 5.63 The council will seek to meet identified needs on suitable sites in sustainable locations and to maintain a five -year supply of deliverable pitches/plots taking into account the findings of the council’s Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (July 2 025) and any subsequent updates. All the identified Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople sites /yards within the district will be ‘safeguarded’ to ensure that the permitted use as a traveller site is not lost through the grant of any subsequent planning permission whilst there remains a need for sites. 5.64 The table below sets out the identified need for gypsy and traveller pitches within the district by year periods. There is a need of 37 pitches arising from those households who meet the planning definition and a need of 4 pitches arising from households with undetermined need. 5.65 The table below sets out the identified need for travelling showpeople plots within the district by year periods. There is a need of 6 plots arising from those households who meet the planning definition and a need of 10 plots arising from households with undetermined need. Year Period Dates PPTS Need Undetermined Need 0 – 5 2025 – 29 6 5 6 – 10 2030 – 34 0 2 11 – 15 2035 – 39 0 2 16 – 20 2040 – 41 0 1 0 – 20 2025 – 41 6 10 5.66 The GTAA has not identified the requirement for transit sites within the district, as such we have not planned for such a facility at the current time, although will keep this approach under review as suggested by the GTAA. 5.67 There are a range of different methods to meet identified need, and often a combination of methods is often most effective. The approaches can be categorised as a criteria -based policy approach, extension of existing sites /yards, allocating entirely new gypsy and traveller sites/travelling showpeople yards, or allocating parts of strategic general needs housing sites. A combination of approaches will be utilised in order to meet the need identified within the GTAA. Year Period Dates PPTS Need Und