Issues and Options:Gypsy and Traveller Site Allocations - Kent

From Swale Borough Council

The first part of our Local Plan for the Borough provides the overall planning strategy for the area. We are now preparing a second part to the Local Plan dealing with Gypsy and Traveller site allocations. This will identify and allocate sufficient sites to meet the future needs of Gypsies and Travellers in the Borough until 2031.

Government policy requires us to make an assessment of what future accommodation might be needed for Gypsies and Travellers and to identify land where it can be provided. These accommodation needs have been assessed by our recent Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) and this issues and options document is now the first step towards meeting those needs.

Before we allocate any sites, we are asking for your views on the key issues that are important to our community in allocating Gypsy and Traveller sites in the Borough. This document asks a number of questions, both general and more locally specific and gives potential options for the way forward. We have also produced a draft methodology to help us assess the suitability of individual sites at a later stage. Your views will assist us in moving this second part of the Local Plan onto its next stage - the identification of sites.

We are inviting comments between 24 February and 25 April 2014.

We have made no decision in favour of any site issue or option at this stage. Once the criteria which we intend to use to assess potential sites have been finalised, any changes required will be made and a second document looking at the site options will be published for consultation.

The Council has already undertaken some early consultation which involved a ‘call for sites’ which ended in December 2013. It is likely that further work will be needed on the identification of sites and responses to the 'call for sites' are still welcomed.

read more...