£30k spend on Gypsy assessment - Derbyshire

From the Burton Mail

A COUNCIL partnership is to spend £30,000 on assessing Gypsy and Traveller accommodation, it has been revealed.

Derbyshire County Council, along with partners which include South Derbyshire District and East Staffordshire Borough Councils, is in the process of updating its Gipsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment for the county.

Commissioned in 2008 by the Derbyshire Travellers’ Issues Working Group (TIWG), the assessment now needs updating. It will now take account of national housing and planning changes.

The county council has now put a £30,000 contract out to tender to update the assessment.

A spokesman for the council said: “(The assessment) will look at changes to movement and settlement of Gypsies and Travellers in the area over the past five years and how this impacts on the numbers of pitches or plots that need to be provided.

“It will also look to consult with Gypsies and Travellers and local communities so that the process of identifying suitable sites can be managed better, and help reduce the number of illegal encampments.”

South Derbyshire, and most recently, the former Bargates site, in Burton, have been hit by illegal encampments.

Travellers have been known to camp illegally at Church Gresley Memorial Club, in York Road, Church Gresley, as well as Mount Pleasant, Castle Gresley, and Sutton Lane, Mount Pleasant, near Church Broughton.

South Derbyshire has reached its target of providing 19 legal camp sites, including some in Park Road, Linton, and Hilton.

The council says the information from the assessment will be used to draw up plans and policies relating to the number and location of sites. Individual local planning authorities will be responsible for identifying sites in their area.

The tender is for no more than £30,000. Each of the TIWG partners has contributed £2,300 towards the study.