Pitches give Travellers £3.5m ‘incentive to live near family’ - Bath

One of the region’s most outspoken critics of illegal Gypsy and Traveller sites has welcomed millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money being spent on creating new sites in his constituency.

James Gray MP, whose North Wiltshire constituency has been at the heart of planning battles between the authorities and “illegal” Gypsy sites, said he hoped awarding £3.5 million of Government funding to council chiefs would help stop camps springing up in the countryside.

Councils and housing authorities were invited to bid for a portion of £60 million from the Homes and Communities Agency, the quango in charge of housing, and many were awarded millions depending how big an issue a lack of gypsy and traveller sites are locally.

There will be 20 new pitches and the refurbishment of 40 existing ones in Wiltshire with their £3.5 million, while £1.7 million awarded to the Matrix Housing Partnership will create 38 new pitches in Gloucestershire.

Bristol City Council is receiving £600,000 for a dozen new pitches, while North Somerset council will create just two pitches for £134,000.

Mr Gray has long been a critic of the practice by Gypsies and Travellers of buying up green field land in the countryside and creating their own sites while applying for retrospective planning permission.

Most battle for years for permission to stay which is almost always granted in the end.

Mr Gray said: “I view this as a good thing – the more we can create official sites or improve existing ones, then it will encourage Gypsies and Travellers with local connections to remain there.

“This is a perfectly legitimate thing to spend £3.5 million on, in the same way as providing the money for the council to provide new council homes would be. I have no problem with councils providing official places for Travellers and Gypsies from Wiltshire, which is eminently sensible. I do have a problem with people with no connection to the area creating illegal sites without planning permission,” he added.

Council chief Toby Sturgis said the money would reduce the problem of illegal encampments. “As a council we are committed to providing appropriate sites for Gypsies and Travellers and reducing the problem of illegal encampments,” he said.

 “This funding from the government will help to address these issues and provide our Traveller and Gypsy communities with suitable, safe sites on legally approved land.

“It is vital we improve provision in Wiltshire, and to have it funded by the government means less pressure on the council’s own budget,” he added.

Government minister Andrew Stunell said he hoped the millions of pounds would improve relations between Traveller families and local settled communities.

“New authorised sites, with the support of local communities, will be treated on an equal footing as new bricks-and-mortar homes, with councils getting powerful financial benefits for building authorised sites where they are needed,” he said.