Cornwall Council Gypsy, Traveller and Showpeople Site Consultation

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.