Gypsy and traveller accommodation

Hertfordshire will need to provide 176 new pitches for Gypsies and Travellers by 2011 under proposals agreed by the East of England Regional Assembly last week - 18 of these are in Hertsmere.

The East of England Assembly (EERA) recommended that every local authority in the region should provide at least 15 new pitches, with more where there is a high level of need.  Following an assessment of need in Hertsmere EERA determined that 18 pitches would be needed in the borough.
 
Councillor Hannah David, portfolio holder for planning, said: "During the summer, hundreds of you turned out to give us your views about Gypsy and Traveller accommodation in the area and these views were fed back to EERA.
 
"Originally the figure proposed for Hertsmere was 17 additional pitches and although EERA are now recommending 18, this is only one more pitch which will not require any more sites to be found than 17 pitches would.  
 
"We have already provided six additional pitches through the expansion of existing sites so we will now look at providing 12 more, which is about the size of one more site somewhere in the borough.
 
"I do think that the public comments given to EERA following on from our meetings have helped to keep the figure relatively low when compared to some other local authorities. The meetings last year were an important exercise in us getting the message across that if we did not come up with some kind of solution it was likely that an even greater figure could have been imposed upon us - and if we refuse to provide 18 at this stage, we could again be expected to provide even more."
 
EERA's proposals will now be submitted to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and published in late February for three months of public consultation.
 
Regional Assembly Chairman Councillor John Reynolds said: "Throughout the East of England, we need more legal places for Gypsies and Travellers to live. With every local authority providing some additional accommodation, it will help solve the problem of unauthorised encampments which can cause problems for both local residents and Gypsies and Travellers.
 
"There will be a full 12-week public consultation on the Gypsy and Traveller caravan pitch proposals, beginning in late February, when everyone can have their say directly to planning inspectors and the Government."
 
The decision follows a two year process of research, public consultation and development of the policy by the Regional Assembly.
 
All 54 local authorities in the region are represented on the Assembly and each will be responsible for making decisions on suitable locations for Gypsy and Traveller pitches within their local area.
 
Government planning policies require Regional Assemblies to make recommendations to Government on the number of caravan pitches for Gypsies and Travellers needed in each local authority area. Government will determine the final number of pitches required in 2009 following an Examination in Public by planning inspectors in late 2008.
 
Once the final numbers are agreed it will be down to Hertsmere Borough Council to find a suitable site for the pitches in its borough. This too will be subject to public consultation.
 
Councillor David added: "Consultation on these kinds of issues is a crucial part of the process and we will keep you up to date with any new developments as we do appreciate this is a sensitive issue."

The total number of pitches proposed in the East of England region by 2011 is 1,187. Further information is available from the EERA website.