Travellers in Devon not out of woods yet despite plan for £1m site

From the Guardian

The Travellers of Haldon Woods camp, a community that has pitched a colourful collection of caravans, old buses, huts and shelters on the Devon site, and, perhaps inevitably, encountered hostility from neighbours not tuned into the alternative lifestyle, are this year facing eviction.

But for some of the residents a brighter future could be just around the corner. More than £1m of public money has been made available to replace the sylvan camp with what is believed to be the first official purpose-built new age Travellers' site in the UK.

The plans are for 15 plots for the "New Travellers" (the generally accepted term) with communal allotments, a children's play area and environmentally friendly features such as composting bins and greywater collection points.

Jody (a pseudonym), who has lived at the settlement for about five years, is one of the residents keen to move to a new site. "I think many people are feeling pretty worn down at the moment," said the mother-of-two, referring to criticism of the present site. "It's a no- brainer for me. I have children who are settled here and work in the area."

The Haldon camp has no running water or power, and she would be looking forward to a few amenities, she said. "We try to keep it together but it can be difficult. It would be nice to have a bit more comfort."

She was also keen to be seen to be paying her way. "We're not tax avoiders, we're not dirty scum. We're all citizens who have chosen to live in a slightly different way."

But there are hitches. Not all of the New Travellers fancy moving to a regulated site where they will be watched over by an onsite manager. They stress that their lifestyle is all about living apart from "conventional society". And some are worried that they will not be able to afford the rent.

Then there are people nearby who question why more than £1m is being spent to look after a community that set up camp without planning permission a decade ago. Such critics believe the present camp should be cleared and the residents moved on.

Jody hopes, that with the move, the group's own sense of community will not be lost. Haldon Woods is a close-knit camp. "We are a real community, we look after each other, we provide our own social services care," she said.

The present site, not far from Kennford village, was first occupied in August 2001. It is unauthorised but has been officially "tolerated" by Devon county council, which owns the land, and the planning authority, Teignbridge district council.

Numbers fluctuate but there are about 25 households, with about 50 people in all. There are single people and families. About a dozen children live on the site, some of whom have been born into the new traveller community; many go to local schools.

Some in the community have been part of the New Travellers' scene since the free festivals of the 1970s or the 1980s "peace convoys. While some of the people travel around Britain, doing seasonal farm work such as flower or fruit picking and joining carnivals and fairs in south-west England, others stay at the camp for most of the year. There is a wide range of skills: tree surgeons, chefs, artists, crafts workers and factory workers. They do not turn away newcomers and police rarely visit the camp.

The district council, however, was being urged to remove the new travellers from the site before the encampment had been there long enough to acquire the legal right to stay.

Enforcement action to remove the Travellers began, but rather than make 50 people homeless the district and county councils – both controlled by Conservatives – collaborated with the affordable housing provider Teign Housing to try to provide a permanent, official site next to the present one.

The Homes and Communities Agency, which allocates money for affordable housing projects, is providing £1.1m to clean up the old camp and facilitate the new site. "It seems the sensible thing to do rather than ending up with 25 households on the roadside or on bits of unsuitable land," said Mike Hanrahan, the chief executive of Teign Housing.

Hanrahan admitted there were challenges. For one thing, there will be only 15 pitches on the new site. Selection policies will be drawn up but Hanrahan believes that because not all will want to move to a regulated site, the numbers will be about right.

The cost will be an issue for some. Hanrahan said the rent, plus service charge, would be between £50 and £70 a week. Residents will also have to pay council tax, though some on the present site already do.

At the camp it was easy to find people hostile to the plans. One said he had no intention of moving. "Come back in five years. We'll still be right here, not on any new site," he said. Another said the scheme was a con aimed at breaking up the present camp.

In nearby villages it was also easy to find those against the new site. "Why should we fund a lovely new site for them? All they do is create a horrible mess in lovely woodland," said one man.

Howard Milton, chairman of Kennford parish council and owner of its post office and village shop, said such views were borne out of ignorance by people who could not see past the untidy entrance to the site. He said the Travellers were valued members of the community and that a new site was the "most sensible, practical and humanitarian solution".

Nobody disputes that there is a lack of official sites for Travellers in Devon. The district council says there are about 5,000 Gypsies and other Travellers in the county. There are only two small official sites for Romany Gypsies.

Penny Dane, a community development worker for the Plymouth and Devon Racial Equality Council, said she understood the new site would not suit all in the camp but believed it was better than making everyone homeless.

Supporters of the scheme praise the councils for their part in a scheme that could prove to be unpopular with many voters.

Philip Vogel, responsible for housing at Teignbridge district council, said the new site could be an example for the rest of the UK. "It may not be a vote winner, but it's not about votes," he said. "It's about doing the right thing for all residents of Teignbridge."