Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan

 

What is the Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan Document?

The Mid Bedfordshire Local Development Framework is made up of a suite of documents.  The Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan Document (DPD) is one of those documents.  The role of this DPD is to identify the amount and location of Gypsy and Traveller accommodation required in the District.  In addition, the document will include criteria based policies against which Gypsy and Traveller associated development will be determined.

Timetable for Preparation

• Consultation on the Preferred Options is timetabled to take place during Summer 2008;
• Submission consultation will be undertaken during Autumn 2008;
• The Examination in Public is timetabled for March 2009; and
• Adoption anticipated in June 2009. 

Bedfordshire and Luton Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment (2006)

Mid Bedfordshire District Council, with Bedford Borough Council, South Bedfordshire District Council and Luton Borough Council, commissioned a Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment for Bedfordshire and Luton as the first step in preparing this DPD.

Local authorities are required by Government, through the Housing Act 2004, to assess the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers alongside the assessment of the needs of the settled population, and develop a strategy that addresses any unmet needs identified through the needs assessment process.  Local authorities are strongly guided by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to undertake needs assessments on a sub-regional basis.  This is to provide more reliable evidence and a better understanding of travelling patterns/reduced risk of double counting.

The needs assessment research identifies the nature of both accommodation and housing-related "support" needs within the Gypsy and Traveller community.  A key component of the study is to provide a reliable assessment of the number of additional pitches that each of the four authorities needs to make provision for, through the planning system, over the next five years.

The Full Report and Executive Summary are available to download/view in PDF format.

Bedfordshire and Luton Travelling Showpeople Accommodation Needs Assessment (2007)

The Council, working with Bedford Borough Council and South Bedfordshire District Council, commissioned an Accommodation Needs Assessment of the Travelling Showpeople community (available to download in pdf format).

This was undertaken separately to the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment, as Travelling Showpeople do not share the same cultures and traditions as Gypsies and Travellers.

The report (recommends the need for an additional 4 new pitches for the Travelling Showpeople community residing in Mid Bedfordshire, to accommdate their need until 2012.

East of England (EERA) Single Issue Review

In February 2006 the Regional Planning Panel decided to proceed with a single issue review to the emerging East of England Plan to address the accommodation needs of the Gypsy and Traveller Communities in the East of England.  The review is required to:

• Address the pressing need for regional policy to assist with local authorities in the East of England in identifying the appropriate number and location of Gypsy and Traveller caravan sites through their Local Development Document
• Conform with ODPM Circular 01/2006 Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Sites, which states the RSS revisions should "identify the number of pitches required (but not their location) for each local planning authority in the light of local authority Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessments (GTAAs) and a strategic view of needs across the region".
  

Please click here for further information (link to an external website)