ITEM CA11
CABINET- 16 OCTOBER 2007
Partial Review of the South East Plan – Provision of Caravan Sites for Gypsies and Travellers
Report by Head of Sustainable Development
Introduction
1. The South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) is undertaking a partial review of the South East Plan covering the provision of caravan pitches for gypsies and travellers. This Council is required, jointly with the district councils, to advise the SEERA on the number of caravan pitches to be provided in each district. A needs assessment has been completed and draft advice agreed by a Steering Group of members from the County Council and each district council in Oxfordshire. This report seeks endorsement of the advice for submission to the SEERA.
Background
2. There is, nationally, a shortage of permanent, authorised caravan sites for Gypsies and Travellers. The Housing Act 2004 (reinforced by guidance in Planning Circular 01/2006, “Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Sites”) places a duty on local councils to assess the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers and allocate sufficient land in their Local Development Documents to provide for the caravan sites that are needed in their area.
3. Under the new planning framework, Regional Spatial Strategies (in this region, the South East Plan) are to give a strategic view of needs across the region and identify the number of pitches required for each local planning authority area, in accordance with a needs assessment. It will then be for local councils to identify specific sites to provide for the pitch numbers specified in the regional plan.
4. Currently, it is estimated there are 185 pitches across Oxfordshire on 13 authorised and permanent sites (Source: Caravan Count January 2007) and 2 unauthorised developments accommodating 7 pitches. The County Council owns and manages 6 of the authorised sites (64 pitches), accommodating some 300 residents.
The Advice Required by SEERA
5. On 1 December 2006 SEERA wrote to all principal and local planning authorities in the South East requesting advice on the ‘required provision for permanent and transit caravan pitches, in order to meet estimated current need (including backlog), future provision and associated means of delivery’.
6. In accordance with the SEERA brief, a member Steering Group with representation from the county council and all five district councils in the county was established to develop and agree the advice.
7. The Brief requires the submission of advice covering the following matters:
- district based figures for permanent caravan pitches (including any provision required for travelling showpeople) - two spatial options for the distribution of pitches - the demand for and type of transit provision - implementation and delivery issues - the evidence base - an explanation of how key stakeholders have been involved.
8. SEERA asked authorities to put forward two spatial options. The first is a distribution that seeks to meet need where it arises taking into account a gypsy and traveller accommodation needs assessment (GTAA). The second is a distribution that seeks ‘to protect and enhance the natural environment, including its biodiversity and landscape character whilst making best use of previously developed land and existing infrastructure, and facilitates access to employment opportunities and local services to support social inclusion’.
9. There is no requirement to express a preferred spatial option.
Summary of the Draft Advice
10. Draft advice agreed by the Steering Group is set out in the attached pro-forma (Annex A) (download as .doc file), together with the appendices to it. It contains a detailed explanation of the methodology used to calculate the pitch requirement for Oxfordshire, including the rationale for the proposed distribution of pitches to each district under two spatial options.
(Appendix 1 - download as .doc file) (Appendix 2 - download as .doc file) (Appendix 3 - download as .doc file) (Appendix 4 - download as .doc file) (Appendix 5 - download as .doc file) (Appendix 6 - download as .doc file)
11. The advice proposes the following for Oxfordshire:
- Future pitch requirement: the provision of 42 additional pitches countywide, between 2006 to 2016, based on revised calculations to the GTAA commissioned by the Association of Councils of the Thames Valley Region (see Annex A (download as .doc file) and Appendix 4 (download as .doc file)).
- Spatial Option A that distributes requirements ‘where it arises’:
- Alternative Spatial Option based on sharing the responsibility of future provision evenly between the districts:
- Transit provision: There are no transit sites that we are aware of currently in Oxfordshire. This is a difficult area to assess as it would require an understanding of the patterns of movement by the community on a wider geographical scale. It is suggested in the pro-forma that this type of analysis is best undertaken at the regional level.
- Travelling Showpeople: The Brief requires an assessment of need to be undertaken for travelling showpeople. It has not been possible to undertake what would be a robust assessment of this group’s accommodation needs over the summer. The Steering Group has agreed to undertake a needs assessment, subject to funding availability, during the winter months to inform the next stages of the review process and to feed into the each authority’s local development framework process.
- Implementation and delivery: It is difficult to make any sensible assessment of implementation and delivery issues at this time. Costs, facilities, management issues etc. will be dependent on a number of factors such as type of site provided, location, and scale. It is proposed that we advise SEERA that this matter is best dealt with at the local level through each district’s local development framework.
What Happens Next?
12. Each of the Oxfordshire councils is seeking political endorsement of the draft advice set out in Annex A (download as .doc file). This advice is being sent to SEERA to meet their 15th October deadline. Once all the councils have considered the advice SEERA will be notified of the council’s final decisions (the pro-forma provides for any authority who does not agree the advice).
13. The table below provides an overview of the next key stages in the review process envisaged by SEERA:
RECOMMENDATION
14. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to endorse the advice in Annex A (download as .doc file) for submission to the South East England Regional Assembly.
CHRIS COUSINS Head of Sustainable Development
Background papers: Nil
Contact Officers: Geri Beekmeyer, Principal Planning Officer, Tel: 01865 815874 Ian Walker, Spatial Planning Manager, Tel: 01865 815588
October 2007
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