Move to find new Gypsy sites in Cumbria due to illegal camps

From the News and Star

Local authorities are trying to identify possible sites – both permanent and temporary – after a report showed the scale of unauthorised encampments across the county – 98 – from 2010 to 2013.

A report showed 61 Gypsy and Traveller pitches are needed over the next five years, and 20 plots for travelling showpeople.

Fifteen Traveller places are earmarked for Carlisle, 27 for Eden, 10 in Allerdale and three in Copeland.

An extra 50 transit – or temporary – pitches are also needed, 10 in Allerdale, eight in Carlisle, five in Copeland and up to 12 in Eden.

A meeting heard how HomeSpace, a not-for-profit organisation which provides Gypsy and Traveller accommodation nationally, has won £1.4m to provide 40 pitches across the county. To receive the funding, it must have a site in operation by the end of March 2015 and is working with district councils to identify suitable land.

“Sites will be assessed against a list of criteria, including its size, location and viability,” Allerdale housing officer Emma Burdock said in a report presented to Allerdale scrutiny committee. Any site developed by HomeSpace would need to contain approximately seven pitches.”

She said the tenure of the site – whether permanent or temporary – would be decided after consultation with community groups and Gypsies and Travellers currently living in the area. HomeSpace wants councils to lease land to them as the funding they receive doesn’t cover the cost of buying it.

A report last year identified the areas most often used as unauthorised encampments and suggested they could provide transit provision. They include up to 10 pitches at Workington and Flimby, eight in Carlisle – at Borland Avenue, Chandler Way and Fletcher Way, at Kingstown - and up to 12 at Gilwilly industrial estate in Penrith.