Policy DM14 Gypsies, travellers and travelling show people
The existing Gypsy and traveller site at Swanton Road and the travelling showpeople’s site at Hooper Lane, off Sprowston Road (as shown on the Policies map) will be retained and reserved for those purposes. Proposals for the upgrading and enhancement of either site over the plan period will be accepted and permitted where consistent with other relevant policies of this plan.
Proposals for the development of additional sites within Norwich to meet the identified needs of the traveller community will be permitted where:
a) safe access to the site can be obtained through an appropriate layout with good visibility, without the loss of natural screening;
b) the site has good access to public transport, services and community facilities including shops, healthcare facilities and schools;
c) the development will not have a significant detrimental impact on the character and amenity of the area; and
d) the proposed site is of sufficient size and in a location to meet the on-site needs of occupiers, having regard to current national standards for site design and management, including for the provision of appropriate services and infrastructure.
The council is committed to meeting the recognised need for at least 21 additional pitches for Gypsies and travellers in Norwich over the remainder of the plan period, of which a minimum of 8 pitches should be provided by the end of March 2016. The council is seeking to meet at least the immediate needs through grant applications to be submitted by the end of 2014. This may also address some or all of the remaining need to 2026.
Should it not be possible to identify sites capable of meeting needs up to 2026 through the above process, the council will produce a short focussed Local Plan which will have the objective of identifying and allocating additional sites for Gypsies and travellers to meet identified needs up to 2026. The Local Plan may be produced for Norwich or a wider area through joint working with adjoining local authorities and, if needed, will be commenced within one year and completed within two years of adoption of this plan.
Supplementary text
14.1 The government’s National Planning Policy Statement on Travellers was issued in March 2012. It requires local authorities to work collaboratively with their neighbours to assess and provide for the needs of the traveller community. In particular, it requires local plans to identify a specific deliverable supply of sites for travellers as part of the overall housing requirement. While local plans are required to identify overall numbers of pitches and plots and broad locational criteria for sites at a strategic level, site specific locations should also be identified in plans in accordance with assessments of need.
14.2 JCS policy 4 sets out a requirement for an additional 15 permanent residential Gypsy and traveller pitches in Norwich city between 2006 and 2011 and a further 20 pitches between 2012 and 2026, based on estimates of need originally incorporated in the (now abolished) Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of England. Up to 27 plots for travelling show people may also be required in the greater Norwich area from 2006-2026. The JCS accepts that following the abolition of the RSS, detailed provision for Gypsies and travellers set out in local plans should be based on updated evidence of local need.
14.3 Currently the council provides a site at Swanton Road for Gypsies and travellers, leased to Norfolk County Council, while a site at Hooper Lane is owned by the Showmen’s Guild. These two sites have met the needs of the two groups of travelling people in the past; however as identified in the JCS there is a requirement to identify new sites for the future. For the reasons given below, no sites were considered suitable to put forward as part of the Site allocations plan. The purpose of this policy is to set out positive criteria for assessing any future planning application.
14.4 Evidence from the Greater Norwich Gypsies and travellers accommodation assessment 2011 (published August 2012) suggests an immediate requirement in Norwich over the first five years of the plan period for 11 additional pitches rather than the 20 indicated in the JCS. This is part of an overall five year requirement across greater Norwich for 51 pitches, the remainder being distributed between Broadland and South Norfolk. There is likely to be an ongoing requirement for up to 30 additional pitches every five years in the greater Norwich area over the remainder of the plan period (i.e. a total of 60 additional pitches from 2016 to 2026). The report indicates no requirement for additional plots for travelling showpeople.
14.5 Assuming the same geographical distribution as the need in the first five years this would suggest that the needs over the period 2016-26 in the City would be for 13 further pitches from the 60 required across greater Norwich. This means that total need is for 24 additional pitches of which three have been provided, as noted below. This leaves an outstanding need of 21 pitches remaining to be met over the plan period.
14.6 Four potential new allocations in Norwich for Gypsies and travellers were considered and appraised for their suitability in 2008 but rejected on the grounds of potential conflict with existing or proposed development allocations or found unacceptable for other environmental reasons such as vulnerability to flooding. The only site with scope for additional Gypsy and traveller provision in the city at this stage was considered to be the existing site at Swanton Road where three new pitches were permitted and provided in 2012, contributing to the 11 pitch requirement to 2016 and leaving a residual requirement of eight to be found in Norwich. The remaining eight pitches identified in the five-year supply are were initially proposed to be accommodated by a westward extension to the site at Swanton Road, however CLG guidance on the design of Gypsy and traveller sites indicates that “experience of site managers and residents alike suggest a maximum of 15 pitches is conducive to providing a comfortable environment which is easy to manage”.
14.7 The Swanton Road site already has 21 pitches and a further extension would considerably exceed this indicative maximum. Liaison with local representatives of the Gypsy and traveller community on the issue also suggests that for operational reasons an expansion of the Swanton Road site would not be the most effective or practical option to address the immediate need for additional pitches in the area. The council is currently exploring options to accommodate the immediate requirement for eight additional pitches on an alternative site(s). Delivery of sites in Norwich is likely to require funding support and the Council is investigating options to secure this, including through joint working with Registered Providers and seeking funding through the Affordable Homes Programme 2015-18. In the meantime a criteria-based approach as set out in policy DM14 is regarded as offering sufficient flexibility to assess any other proposed sites should they come forward over the plan period. Further discussion of the background to Gypsy and traveller provision is contained in the Housing topic paper supporting this local plan.
14.8 All planning applications for Gypsy and traveller sites should demonstrate how the proposal will meet current national standards for site design and management, and should contain full details of screening, landscaping, security, mitigation of any other significant impacts and arrangements for management of the site.
References
- NPPF: CLG, 2012: Section 6: Delivering a wide choice of quality homes.
- Planning Policy for Traveller sites: CLG, 2012.
- Designing Gypsy and traveller Sites: Good Practice Guide; CLG/Housing Corporation, 2008.
- Gypsy and traveller strategy - A Partnership document for Norfolk and Suffolk: Norfolk and Suffolk Gypsy and traveller liaison officers group (GTLO) 2012.
- JCS policy 4: Housing delivery.
- Greater Norwich Gypsies and travellers accommodation assessment 2011, Opinion Research Services 2012.
- Affordable Homes Programme 2015-18 prospectus, HCA Jan 2014.
