Cornwall Council is launching a
public consultation
on how and where residential, transit and Showpeople sites can be
provided for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople in Cornwall.
The consultation period runs from
Monday 25 April until 5pm on Monday
6 June 2016 and will influence the Gypsy and Travelling Communities
Site Allocations Development Plan (DPD), to meet needs identified as
part of the
Cornwall Local Plan.
Cornwall Council needs to provide suitable, well managed sites in
appropriate locations, to meet the existing and future needs of Gypsies
and Travellers. This will enable the provision of decent homes in the
future for these communities and particularly those that need assistance
in finding safe and secure sites to live on or stay on whilst they are
travelling in Cornwall. The provision of a range of additional
authorised sites should help alleviate the problems sometimes
experienced when groups of Travellers use unauthorised and unsuitable
sites.
Cornwall has a number of approved and authorised Gypsy &
Traveller sites, however, there are also unauthorised sites (without
planning permission). Evidence available on the accommodation needs of
Gypsies and Travellers in Cornwall suggest:
- There is a shortage of and a need for transit sites and emergency stopping places;
- More public sites are needed to meet the needs of Travelling communities in addition to the three already provided
- There is a need to facilitate the provision of private sites to meet
the expanding needs of Gypsy and Traveller families in Cornwall.
This ‘Scoping document’ marks the formal start of the process of
preparing the Gypsy and Travelling Communities Site Allocations Plan.
Evidence suggests that by 2030 Cornwall will need an additional:
- 318 residential pitches on both public and private sites, including
the requirement for a new public site or sites to meet the needs of
different Traveller groups;
- 60 transit pitches strategically located across Cornwall (15 of
these were recently given planning permission) together with a network
of emergency stopping places; and
- additional Travelling Showpeople plots.
Cornwall Council cabinet member for planning Edwina Hannaford said:
“We want to hear from a wide audience to understand what interested
parties think about the proposals in this scoping document before the
first version of the Gypsy and Travelling Communities Site Allocations
DPD is produced. The Council will engage with key stakeholders and will
then consult on the DPD’s content prior to its submission to the
Secretary of State.”
Once complete, the DPD will sit alongside the Cornwall Local Plan:
Strategic Policies document and the Council’s Gypsies and Travelling
Communities Strategy and will provide greater definition as to how key
policies relating to Gypsies, Travellers and Traveling Showpeople will
be delivered in Cornwall.
As well as being accessible on the
Council’s website, hard copies of the ‘Scoping document’ can also be accessed at any Library or One-Stop-Shop. You can also email
localplan@cornwall.gov.uk for further information.
All comments should be returned to the Council by 5pm on Monday 06 June 2016.
