GYPSY AND TRAVELLER SITE SEARCH AND CONSULTATION
Central Government issued a circular, 01/2006 entitled Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Sites, and the draft Regional Spatial Strategy addresses the importance of these needs to accommodate these sites all over the South West.
 
Circular 01/2006 states " In deciding where to provide for gypsy and traveller sites, the Local Planning Autority should first consider in or near existing settlements with access to local services eg shops, doctors and schools. The draft R.S.S. identifies that sustainable communities should be well connected - with good transport services and  communication linking people to jobs, schools, health and other services"
 
North Wiltshire District undertook, along with all the other districts, a survey of gypsy and traveller need.  A Wiltshire wide survey took place in 2006.  This survey identified the need for 24 permanent pitches in North Wiltshire District.  The local authority identified 6 potential sites owned by either the District or County Councils.
 
There were 2 in Calne, 2 in Wootton Bassett and 2 in Chippenham.
 
A meeting of the Executive of North Wiltshire District Council was held on 24th April 2008 at which this issue and the identified sites were to be discussed.  Information about the meeting was not made widely known and only due to a few informed people were members of the public able to attend the meeting and give their views.  As a result the Executive had to agree to go out to public consultation on the 6 sites.
 
The consultation ran from 9 May to 20 June 2008.  Following the results of the consultations, accompanied by three public meetings, one in each town, the authority announced that it would not be selecting any of the 6 sites.  It would however be considering the 9 private sites which had been put forward as a result of the consultation.   Further information will be available later in the year.
 
A further difficulty for the authority is the decision of the inspectors of the Regional Spatial Strategy (special report on Gypsy and Traveller sites) decided that North Wiltshire should accommodate 48 pitches, not 24.  They put forward no justification through evidence for this conclusion and had criticised the authority for the methodology used for calculating the number of 24.  At present it seems possible that Wiltshire may challenge the inspector's conclusions, and they will be writing to the Secretary of State.
 
This is a subject which arouses wide emotional public response. The approach which CPRE takes is that each pitch (one permanent and one travelling caravan, and up to 3 temporary caravans) should be viewed as housing.  Therefore our response to the consultation has been to respond as though these were applications for housing development and to assess the need on the basis of existing housing policies.

Anne Henshaw