Consultation on Temporary Stopping Places foor Gypsies and Travellers on AAnglesey 2nd June – 1st July 2016 Consultation on Temporary Stopping Places for Gypsies and Travellers on Anglesey The Isle of Anglesey County Council is legally required by the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 to assess and meet the accommodation needs of the population within their area. This includes the needs of the Gypsy and Traveller Community and that of Travelling show people. The Council consulted in February and March 2016 on sites for a permanent residential site and two Temporary Stopping Places. As a result of this consultation the Council’s Executive agreed that one of these sites, land at Penhesgyn, near Penmynydd, should be included in the Joint Local Development Plan as a possible allocation for a permanent residential site to meet the need of New Travellers currently living at an unauthorised encampment on the A5025 Pentraeth Road. Following this first consultation the Executive accepted a recommendation that none of the Temporary Stopping Places considered in the consultation should be pursued further. The statutory assessment that the Council carried out in accordance with Welsh Government requirements identified that on Anglesey there is a need for two Temporary Stopping Places: One Temporary Stopping Place to serve the needs of Gypsies and Travellers who make encampments of a few nights in transit to and from the port at Holyhead. One Temporary Stopping Place to serve the need of Gypsies and Travellers who have a traditional pattern of encampment for a few weeks which occur for cultural reasons and while they are carrying out work in the area. Further sites have now been identified as potential Temporary Stopping Places. This document sets out these sites and forms the basis of a consultation which will run for a period of four weeks from 2nd June to 1st July 2016. How to respond A questionnaire has been provided for your use. You can complete the questionnaire online on our website or complete a hard copy and return it to us, either during a drop-in session arranged by the Council, or sent to the following address: By post: Housing Strategy and Development Manager Anglesey County Council Council Offices Llangefni LL77 7TW By email: [email protected] All responses must be received by 5pm on Friday 1 July 2016. Information is also available in other formats including large print and Braille. To obtain one of the alternative formats, please telephone (01248) 752200. Background 1.1. The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 places a duty on Local Authorities to provide sites for Gypsies and Travellers where a need has been identified. The Welsh Government’s Travelling to a Better Future, dated 2015, sets out a detailed policy framework for Local Authorities to follow. The Welsh Government Circular 30/2007 Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Sites also strengthens the requirement that local authorities identify and make provision for sufficient appropriate sites in their Local Development Plans. 1.2. A document known as the Anglesey and Gwynedd Gypsy and Travellers Accommodation Needs Assessment 2016 (GTAA) has been produced jointly between Anglesey County Council and Gwynedd Council during the Autumn of 2015 and updates the previous North West Wales GTAA which was published in 2013. The GTAA was approved by Gwynedd Council’s Cabinet on the 19th January, and was approved by Anglesey Council’s Executive on the 8th February. The new Anglesey and Gwynedd GTAA has identified the need for the following on Anglesey: A permanent residential site to meet the needs of the New Travellers arising from the unauthorised tolerated site at Pentraeth Road (four pitches) Two sites to be used as Temporary Stopping Places for Gypsies and Travellers along the A55 on Anglesey, one in the Holyhead area and one in the centre of the Island. 1.3. During both stages of the consultation process the Council has been working with the Gwynedd and Anglesey Joint Planning and Policy Unit to identify potential sites to meet the identified need, as outlined above. Enquiries have been made with public bodies to identify any potential available land that meets the criteria set out for site suitability. Officers identifying sites initially gave priority to identifying land in the Council’s ownership, as it was considered that such sites could be provided sooner and would cost less than sites in private ownership. However because of the lack of suitable sites in its own ownership the Council has included sites that are privately owned as a result would need to work with the owners in the event that the site was the preferred option. 1.4. Who are Gypsies and Travellers? 1.4.1. The term Gypsies and Travellers includes Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers, as well as people from any group who follow a travelling life. It also includes Travelling Show people and New Travellers where they have a history of travelling and living in mobile homes. 1.4.2. Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers are defined as minority ethnic groups under the Race Relations Act (1976). There are a number of Gypsy and Traveller communities, and each have different histories and traditions. Gypsies are Romany ethnic groups who have lived in Britain for around 600 years. Their ancestors originate from northern India. Irish Travellers are a nomadic group with a distinctive way of life who have been part of Irish and British society since ancient times but increased since the 1960s. New Travellers are people of settled background who adopted a travelling lifestyle more recently, although some are now in their third or fourth generation of travelling. They have adopted this way of life for a variety of reasons, such as homelessness, unemployment or environmental reasons. 1.4.3. Gypsies and Travellers without an authorised pitch for their caravans are classed as being homeless. The current lack of authorised sites on the Island is the reason for unauthorised encampments on roadsides, car parks or other pieces of land in other parts of the Island. 1.4.4. Such unauthorised sites provide uncertain and often very poor living conditions for Gypsies and Travellers, disruption and anxiety for settled neighbours, and costs to the Council in management and enforcement. This also can make community cohesion and social inclusion harder to achieve. 1.5. Benefits to the local communities of authorised Gypsy and Traveller sites 1.5.1. Authorised sites will be managed by the local authority or a body appointed by the local authority, ensuring that the site is well maintained, and action can be taken if site rules are breached. 1.5.2. At present in Anglesey, as in many other parts of Wales, a number of unauthorised encampments occur each year. The provision of authorised sites will mean Gypsies and Travellers have a safe place with suitable facilities to stay, which much reduces the likelihood that unauthorised encampments will be made. If unauthorised encampments were to occur once the Council had provided authorised sites the local authority will be in a much stronger position to take rapid and successful enforcement action to end the encampment. 1.6. How have we assessed the need for Gypsy and Traveller sites on Anglesey? 1.6.1. Welsh Government guidance requires that the needs of Romany Gypsies, Irish Travellers, Travelling Show people and New Travellers are considered. The assessment must identify the number of Gypsy and Traveller households which require pitches immediately and any likely additional pitch need over the next 5 years. The assessment must identify the need for residential pitches and for transit pitches or temporary stopping places. 1.6.2. Anglesey and Gwynedd Councils worked jointly between September and December 2015 to carry out this work. The assessment was carried out in accordance with the statutory guidance from the Welsh Government and, as recommended in the guidance, a Steering Group made up of Gwynedd and Anglesey Council Members, officers from Planning Policy and Housing and a member from the Gypsy and Traveller community met regularly to oversee the study. A combination of interviews, questionnaires and secondary data sources have been used as evidence for the assessment. Secondary data included Anglesey Council’s record and experience of numerous unauthorised encampments over recent years, and conversations with householders on each occasion. This enabled officers to build an understanding of the patterns of unauthorised encampments over a period of time, and the needs of different groups. This included conversations with the households in the unauthorised encampments in Pentraeth Road, temporary encampments in Holyhead, Mona and Llangefni, as well as with Travelling Show people. 1.6.3. The Council has engaged an independent advocate from the Unity Project which works with Gypsies and Travellers to help facilitate consultation and engagement with Gypsies and Travellers on Anglesey. The advocate was asked to consult with six Gypsy and Traveller households staying on an unauthorised encampment at Mona Industrial Estate during the first consultation period. This consultation showed that the six households were in agreement that as long as a site was provided on Anglesey the location was not overly important to them, as long as it wasn’t too out of the way. Most agreed that the site should be located close to shop and facilities, although this was qualified by pointing out by several that they have use of a car. It was pointed out that any site created in the Holyhead area would predominantly be used by Irish Travellers crossing to and from Ireland. All households indicated their willingness to pay a weekly fee for the use of temporary stopping facilities with adequate facilities for their needs. 2. Consultation 2.1. Further Work has taken place at the Isle of Anglesey County Council to identify possible locations for Temporary Stopping Places for Gypsy and Traveller on the Island.