Survey: Aylesbury Vale needs 47 more Gypsy and Traveller pitches - Buckinghamshire

From the Bucks Herald

Gypsies and Travellers will need 47 extra pitches across Aylesbury Vale in the next 10 years, a new report suggests.

A survey revealed there are currently 100 pitches in the district, but 17 of these are unauthorised.

The assessment involved a number of face-to-face interviews with residents on existing Traveller sites in the county, as well as telephone surveys with the settled and travelling community.

It revealed there are 286 pitches across Bucks, 31 of which are unauthorised. The county as a whole needs 108 more pitches by 2023, the report says.

Government guidance issued in March 2012 aims to ensure members of the Gypsy, Traveller and travelling showpeople communities have access to ‘decent and appropriate accommodation options’. For many of these, this means designated sites rather than ‘bricks and mortar’ accommodation.

Each district council will use the results of the study to help them consider how to meet demand.

Aylesbury Vale District Council said in a statement: “By planning positively in this way, the district councils will have greater control over where Traveller sites are situated and this will mean they are better placed to take action against unauthorised encampments and developments in the future.”