72 new gypsy and traveller pitches needed in south Staffordshire

South Staffordshire District Council is putting forward proposals to help tackle the shortfall of pitches as part of the latest Local Plan documents going out to public consultation later this year.

An additional 121 pitches are required over 15 years in the district for gypsies and travellers, including 72 within a five-year period, the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee has heard.

The council will be looking to use privately-owned sites to meet existing family needs. Proposed locations for 42 pitches over a five-year period, on sites near Penkridge, Great Wyrley, Essington, Coven and Wombourne, were presented to the committee on Tuesday.

Lead planning manager Kelly Harris said: “The approach is very much about looking at the identified family needs of the communities we know are there, on adjacent sites or as close to adjacent sites as possible, rather than looking at new greenfield or green belt locations. It’s quite clear that we have a lack of alternative site options, which consultation will hopefully bring forward if there are any opportunities.

“We will also be writing to neighbouring authorities under the duty to cooperate, in the same way we have responsibilities across boundaries to help meet shortfalls, to see if they can assist in helping to meet the identified needs that we have for the gypsy and traveller community.”

Concerns were raised at Tuesday’s meeting by committee members however about future provision.

Councillor Mike Lawrence said: “We’ve known about this issue for 20 years at least. What have we as a local authority done to try and engender interest and encourage sites to come forward?

“Why don’t we get major developers who are going to be building thousands of houses across South Staffordshire in the next 10-15 years to provide plots of land around the district and set them aside for gypsy and traveller sites?

“If we had this policy written into this document we could then block gypsy incursions on any land – especially land on the green belt – and not give them a temporary or permanent permission to develop that site.”

Mrs Harris responded: “We could certainly look at that if that was a representation put forward to us. We could speak with landowners – at the moment the test is ultimately do we have a willing landowner and no we don’t.

“We could certainly explore that if members wanted us to look at that with some of the larger sites that are coming forward for development.

“We can’t govern who would go onto those sites. For example if a large strategic site allocated an area that was for gypsy and traveller use and the local families where we know there is a need didn’t want to go there, it would be open for other families to use that from elsewhere, which is perpetuating the need.”

Councillor Bob Cope said: “Some of the pitches over several years past have been land that has been seized by gypsies moving into the area, paying agricultural rates for a field, moving onto it and then we have given them temporary permission.

“They’ve created that need by moving onto that land. This is a self-fulfilling prophecy – it’s going to increase and increase.

“We’ve got more gypsy pitches in South Staffordshire than the rest of the West Midlands and it’s going to keep increasing because of allowing sites to come on-stream.

“I’ve got nothing against gypsies – they do need pitches and somewhere to live. But there’s something wrong with this policy. How can we stop this inflow down the A5 corridor where they’re not going into the other areas but all want to come to South Staffordshire?”

Councillor Terry Mason, cabinet member for planning, responded: “If somebody puts forward alternative sites during this consultation period, all we will be doing is increasing closer to the 72 (required over a five-year period) quite possibly, rather than the 42 we’ve currently got.

“If you want to take it up with national policy then by all means do so, but it is national policy we are having to follow.”