Draft Regulation 18 Sandwell Local Plan

Ended on the 18 December 2023

Accommodation for Gypsies and Travellers and Travelling Showpeople

7.68 Sandwell has a small, settled community of Gypsies and Travellers, and Travelling Showpeople, and has experienced unauthorised encampments in the past. In accordance with national guidance, the SLP aims to provide sufficient, appropriately designed and integrated sites to accommodate the needs of these communities over the plan period

(7) Policy SHO10 – Accommodation for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople

Safeguarding Existing Supply

Existing Gypsy and Traveller and Travelling Showpeople sites (shown on the Policies Map) will be protected unless it can be demonstrated that they are no longer required or suitable alternative provision can be made.

Meeting Future Need

New Gypsy and Traveller permanent pitches will be provided to meet identified need up to 2031 as set out in Table 9, in accordance with the Black Country Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) 2022.
Accommodation needs for Gypsies and Travellers and Travelling Showpeople over the Plan period will be met through sites with outstanding planning permission, allocated sites and other sites granted planning permission during the Plan period in accordance with the criteria set out below. The council will pursue funding and / or management arrangements for new sites, where necessary.
Proposals for permanent Gypsy and Traveller pitches and Travelling Showpeople plots will be assessed against the following criteria:
1. The site should be suitable as a place to live, particularly regarding health and safety, and the development should be designed to provide adequate levels of privacy and amenity for both occupants and neighbouring uses;
2. The site should meet moderate standards of access to residential services as set out in Policy SHO3, Table 6;
3. The site should be located and designed to facilitate integration with neighbouring communities;
4. The site should be suitable to allow for the planned number of pitches, an amenity block, a play area, access roads, parking and an area set aside for work purposes where appropriate, including, in the case of Travelling Showpeople, sufficient level space for outdoor storage and maintenance of equipment;
5. The site should be served or capable of being served by adequate on-site services for water supply, power, drainage, sewage and waste disposal (storage and collection); and
6. A minimum 10% biodiversity net gain is demonstrated in accordance with Policy SNE2.
The location, design and facilities provided on new sites will be determined in consultation with local Gypsies and Travellers and Travelling Showpeople and will also consider / reflect any available national guidance.
Proposals should be well designed and laid out in accordance with Secured by Design principles and as set out in Policy SDM1. It is recommended that pre-application advice is sought from the West Midlands Police Design Out Crime Officers.

Justification

7.69 A Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) for the Black Country was completed in 2022, in accordance with national guidance, and identified the likely future local need for Gypsy and Traveller and Travelling Showpeople accommodation. It is anticipated that allocations and permissions will provide sufficient supply to meet targets up to 2031, and small windfalls within the urban area are expected to meet remaining need over the Plan period. Appendix B provides details of sites allocated in the SLP for gypsy and traveller pitches. Planning permission will also be granted for additional sites that meet the criteria set out in Policy SHO10, where appropriate.

7.70 Permanent Gypsy and Traveller pitches, and Travelling Showpeople plots, have fixed infrastructure with all the normal residential amenities, and are used as a base to travel from. They are intended to allow Gypsies and Travellers to obtain good access to education, health, and other services. It is important that pitches and plots are well designed in line with Secured by Design principles, and it is recommended that advice is sought from West Midlands Police Design Out Crime Officers.

7.71 The GTAA identified that Gypsies and Travellers prefer small, family-sized sites with approximately 10 - 15 pitches but will accept larger sites if they have been carefully planned and designed in consultation with the Gypsy community. Local authorities may assist Gypsies and Travellers living on their own land without planning permission to obtain retrospective planning permission where this is deemed appropriate.

Gypsy and Traveller Permanent Pitches

7.72 The SLP aims to meet the needs of existing families that meet the Planning Policy for Travellers Sites 2015 (PPTS) travel for all definition (excluding those living in bricks and mortar accommodation) as identified in the GTAA, by continuing to deliver privately and publicly owned sites and pitches. The total need identified is for eight pitches up to 2031, and an additional six pitches from 2031 to 2041.

7.73 The evidence supports the following approach towards meeting need up to 2029:

safeguard existing Gypsy and Traveller pitches;
allocate existing temporary or unauthorised sites for permanent use (subject to other planning considerations);
intensify and extend existing sites, where appropriate;
carry forward existing pitch allocations from adopted Plans;
allocate new pitches on sites which have emerged since adopted Plans.

Table 9 - Supply of Gypsy and Traveller Permanent Pitches up to 2031

Type of Supply	Number
Existing Authorised Pitches	16
Regularise temporary / unauthorised sites (b)	0
Intensify and extend existing sites (c)	0
Pitch Allocations (d, e)	10
Total New Pitches	10

7.74 Table 9 demonstrates how this approach will deliver sufficient pitches to meet the need up to 2031 plus a buffer of two pitches (20%) - providing a five-year deliverable supply of pitches from adoption of the SLP in 2025, as required by the PPTS. The approach will also provide 71% of the total need for 14 pitches over the Plan period (2023-41).

7.75 It is not possible to identify and allocate further sites to meet the remaining need for four pitches up to 2041, as no deliverable site options were put forward through the Sandwell Local Plan preparation process, which included a "call for site" opportunity and an assessment of Council-owned land. Therefore, this remaining need will be met within the borough through the planning application process, with proposals considered against the criteria set out in Policy SHO10 and any other relevant Local Plan policies. This is consistent with past trends, where small windfall sites have come forward within the urban area, and these have been approved where in accordance with other planning policies.

Travelling Showpeople Plots

7.76 The GTAA identifies a need for 32 Travelling Showpeople plots over the Plan period. It is not possible to identify and allocate sites to meet this need, as no deliverable site options have been put forward through the Sandwell Local Plan preparation process, which included one "call for sites" opportunity. Therefore, this need will be met within the borough, through the planning application process, with proposals considered against the criteria set out in Policy SHO10 and any other relevant Local Plan policies. This is consistent with past trends, where small windfall sites have come forward within the urban area, and these have been approved where in accordance with other planning policies.

7.77 Travelling Showpeople have different accommodation requirements to those of Gypsies and Travellers, and form part of a different community. They require large plots capable of accommodating lorries and equipment, which are more suited to mixed use areas.

For instructions on how to use the system and make comments, please see our help guide.