Gipsy sites: What is happening? (The Times 03 Jan 2009)
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Gipsy sites: What is happening? (The Times 03 Jan 2009)
by Admin Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:14 am
Gipsy sites: What is happening?
By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 8:11PM GMT 03 Jan 2009
Q: What is the Government doing?
A: Ministers have allocated £97 million over three years to provide extra pitches for gipsies and travellers. According to official estimates, between 4,000 and 7,500 extra pitches are required across England. In the first round of spending, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has allocated £21.6 million to 43 schemes.
Q: What is a "pitch"?
A: A pitch, also known as a plot, is a piece of land on which a single family of gipsies or travellers can live. Each pitch has room for two or three caravans or mobile homes, as well as a "day room" and associated structures, some of which will be brick-built, and space to park vehicles. The pitches funded by the current project will all have access to running water, electricity and waste collection.
Q: Why are the sites required?
A: There has long been a shortage of official gipsy and traveller sites. Some travellers have pitched their camps in lay-bys, while others have parked illegally on private land, often sparking conflicts with local residents. The Government's programme is designed to reduce illegal camping and associated problems such as fly-tipping. Councils estimate they spend £18 million a year on clearing up after illegal camps and other enforcement, such as legal action.
Q: Where will they be built?
A: In most cases, existing gipsy and traveller camps will be refurbished or extended. Six of the 43 so far announced are classed as new sites.
Q: Where do gipsies and travellers live now?
A: Of the estimated 15,500 gipsy and traveller caravans in England, about 6,600 are on sites run by local councils; 5,800 are on private sites; 2,100 are on land owned by the travellers, but without planning permission; and 1,100 are camped illegally on someone else's land.
Q: Have local councils been given a quota to fill?
A: A spokeswoman for the DCLG said: "There is no specific number of pitches. The money is there for councils to bid for. We have not said 'You must provide this many sites.'
Link to original article
By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 8:11PM GMT 03 Jan 2009
Q: What is the Government doing?
A: Ministers have allocated £97 million over three years to provide extra pitches for gipsies and travellers. According to official estimates, between 4,000 and 7,500 extra pitches are required across England. In the first round of spending, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has allocated £21.6 million to 43 schemes.
Q: What is a "pitch"?
A: A pitch, also known as a plot, is a piece of land on which a single family of gipsies or travellers can live. Each pitch has room for two or three caravans or mobile homes, as well as a "day room" and associated structures, some of which will be brick-built, and space to park vehicles. The pitches funded by the current project will all have access to running water, electricity and waste collection.
Q: Why are the sites required?
A: There has long been a shortage of official gipsy and traveller sites. Some travellers have pitched their camps in lay-bys, while others have parked illegally on private land, often sparking conflicts with local residents. The Government's programme is designed to reduce illegal camping and associated problems such as fly-tipping. Councils estimate they spend £18 million a year on clearing up after illegal camps and other enforcement, such as legal action.
Q: Where will they be built?
A: In most cases, existing gipsy and traveller camps will be refurbished or extended. Six of the 43 so far announced are classed as new sites.
Q: Where do gipsies and travellers live now?
A: Of the estimated 15,500 gipsy and traveller caravans in England, about 6,600 are on sites run by local councils; 5,800 are on private sites; 2,100 are on land owned by the travellers, but without planning permission; and 1,100 are camped illegally on someone else's land.
Q: Have local councils been given a quota to fill?
A: A spokeswoman for the DCLG said: "There is no specific number of pitches. The money is there for councils to bid for. We have not said 'You must provide this many sites.'
Link to original article
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Similar topics» First 43 sites named in £100 million gipsy camp scheme (The Telegraph 4/1/09)
» Anger over plans for travellers' sites (Hinckley Times 19/12/08)
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» Anger Over travellers Site Plans (Hinckley Times 5/12/08)
Groby Action Group :: HBBC Local Development Framework (LDF) details :: Details of the Proposals and News
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