No place to go

From the Economics and Social Research Centre

How can we create space and place in communities for Gypsies and Travellers?

Research by Dr Jo Richardson, at De Montfort University, Leicester, has attempted to understand the conflict that can be caused in the debate on Gypsy and Traveller sites.

Gypsies and Travellers are ethnic groups protected under equalities legislation. About a third of them live on sites or on the roadside, with the rest in housing. Many Gypsies and Travellers prefer sites because they can be close to family and have a base from which to travel. But without suitable accommodation, they cannot access adequate healthcare and schooling, resulting in stark mortality and employment outcomes.

Just the mention of Gypsy and Traveller sites can be the cause of conflict and debate. There are objections from communities to new planning applications, but there are also complaints when roadside encampments appear if there is nowhere else to stop. How can we break this cycle of not wanting Gypsies and Travellers to travel through our communities, or to settle on sites either?

The research has found that one of the key barriers is the creation of conflict through political and media discussion, and the reflection of this conflict in community-planning consultations. Politicians and newspaper editors need to practise caution in the language they use when discussing the issues. Gypsies and Travellers are not a homogenous group as represented in some parts of the media, and their diversity and their place in Britain's culture should be celebrated.

A further challenge to site delivery is a seemingly short supply of available and appropriate land. There is a much wider debate on the shortage of housing more generally in Britain, but conflict in the debate on planning for sites exacerbates the situation for Gypsies and Travellers. The research found that there is a need to demonstrate the cost-benefit of providing sites compared with closing and cleaning up unauthorised camps – effectively continuously paying for non-provision of sites.

Alternative approaches, including community land trust initiatives, might also be a way to create sites. Adaptive planning and conflict resolution can be appropriate ways forward, and the use of mediation techniques in planning consultation exercises can create a more balanced debate.

The benefit is that small family sites – the preference of travelling and settled communities – can be developed and unauthorised encampments reduced.