Wednesday 14 August 2013

The Latest on Gypsy and Traveller Sites

There is to be a great meeting in Westminster in October to discuss the provision of sites for Gypsies and Travellers. 

As you may know, my first two novels, Gypsies Stop tHere and No Gypsies Served have story lines relating to the shortage of Gypsy sites and relationships between.the travelling community and mainstream society. In my early research I became very intrigued by the causes of this and why it has become such a social issue everywhere. I came to realise in my investigations that the on-going, sorry situation was bound up in a tangled web of history, culture, tradition, justice, planning laws and widespread beliefs in society that sometimes can only be described as prejudice. As with any section of society, people tend to remember unhappy incidents where there is some kind of conflict or tension, and then apply their conclusions to a whole group of people. Such negativity is often at the core of racism.

A key problem is availability of land and I fully appreciate that, but the amount of land required to provide sites where Travellers and Gypsies can live in a trailer instead of a house, is on a remarkably small scale. As far as I can see, it could be incorporated into planned housing developments; the only difference being that a hard-standing pitch is needed instead of foundations for a house. Put like this, unless you are a property developer, does it not seem a fairly simple and modest request? 

Traditionally, the travelling community live in family groups and do not care to do their ablutions or laundry in the trailer so some kind of utility ‘shed’ is preferred for washing and toilet, as you might find on any regulated holiday campsite. None of these requirements is beyond the wit of man, or the planning authorities. Also, where a Gypsy or Traveller has purchased land to set up home, then certain criteria could surely be devised that could accommodate this without contravening planning laws. If it is land that is an Area of Outstanding Beauty; strictly agricultural or green belt, then no. If it is a piece of land that might be used for building bricks and mortar, or a reclaimed brownfield site, then possibly. This is oversimplifying, but surely government and planning experts could come up with a compromise formula if they were willing. 

The stumbling block for councils to provide as they should is often down to the general public raising objections. These protests can arise as a result of ugly perceptions that have grown due to the mess associated with unauthorised sites. You see where I am going? By the way, it is always worth re-stating that authorised Gypsy sites are, almost always, kept immaculately.

If you want to know more, here are some links you may find useful. Actually, I am underselling them - they make fascinating reading! Just make yourself comfortable for a few minutes.


Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles; Chairman of the Gypsy Council Joseph Jones; Chief Executive of the Irish Travellers Movement Yvonne MacNamara;  Prime Minister David Cameron; some widely opposing views reported here. The Westminster briefing will be a fascinating debate to follow.

Here is an abridged version in Inside Housing

Surrey Heath Residents Blog

See the heated conversation that struck up here in November 2010 in response to my piece on a local issue. This situation was not typical but a very specific circumstance relating to Showmen; however the discussion that ensued was more typical.
 
 
If you are new to all this and would like a more relaxing way to gain some understanding of the various sides of this important debate, then you could start by reading my novels, an 'easy way in' as one reviewer said. 

9 comments:

  1. A Romany Gypsy could not for some reason get this comment to publish, but sent it out on Twitter:
    It's nice to hear/read an un-biased opinion on this subject. I am a romany gypsy so have heard a great many opinions, not all of them informed or particularly intelligent!
    Eric Pickles 'new' clampdown on illegal camps is nothing new. The authorities always had the power to deny gypsies a place to reside then throw them off their own land and make families homeless when they try to provide their own. I should mention that local authorities have always built on greenbelt, most people's housing are on what used to be greenbelt. The strongest arguments for greenbelt are usually from those with a secure home (on what was greenbelt):) If the government allocated land for private and authority gypsy sites, just as they do for housing and other development then we WOULD NOT have the issues we have now due to LACK OF SITES. Now why would an authority allocate land for development and housing (some in greenbelt I might add) and not make adequate allocation for the gypsy population?
    Gypsies do not choose illegal encampments, prejudice in planning means we cannot buy a plot of residential land to live on in a caravan, that would be out of character, nor on greenbelt, that would also be inappropriate. Not too close to non gypsy people, they would object. Not too far from them, that would be too far from amenities!!!! And all the time our children are growing older, needing homes of their own, homes we would be able to provide for them by purchasing and developing our own small family funded/run sites. But it seems that too many people only believe what they see/hear in the media, they will not try to know us or listen to the true facts about gypsies and planning, which leads to a huge amount of objections in the planning process, fuelled by fear of the unknown and resentment because the media tells them that we actually receive a BETTER deal (if its in the news, it must be true, eh) than the settled community. Councillors are more concerned with votes than homes for families. So applications are rejected and families like mine are raised without a stable base, enduring prejudice from so many of the settled community and not knowing if we will ever get a fair hearing.

    Thank you Rho @Rjv1Romany

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fascinating article, Miriam and equally as fascinating to read Rho's comment. There are always two sides to every story, as the saying goes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes Linn, and it is such a complicated set of issues with so many people holding forth with opposing views; I hope my books help! People who have read them tell me the stories and characters made them stop and think - differently!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your blog article is very intersting and fanstic,at the same time the blog theme is unique and perfect,great job.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Was it acceptable for the Irish government to effectively evict their gypsies when the passed the law making I camping on land criminal trespass? Both Ireland and UK are signatories to the EU.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your blog was so informative and having excellent description about The Latest on Gypsy and Traveller Sites.Its really interesting.
    Web Design Company India | Web Development Company India

    ReplyDelete
  7. I really grateful to this blog for getting the latest information about Gypsy and Traveller Sites.This is very helpful for people .
    Web Design Company | Web Designing Companies

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi,

    Thanks for sharing a very interesting article about The Latest on Gypsy and Traveller Sites. This is very useful information for online blog review readers. Keep it up such a nice posting like this.

    From,
    WondersMind,
    Web Design Company Bangalore

    ReplyDelete