Draft guidance for undertaking Gypsy and Traveller accommodation assessments - Chapter 4: making use of the assessment

Once the Gypsy and Traveller accommodation assessment has been approved by Welsh Ministers, local authorities will be subject to a legal duty to exercise their functions to provide mobile home pitches to meet the identified needs.

A local authority’s existing approved GTAA remains valid until it is superseded by the next GTAA which is approved in relation to the authority from time to time. Irrespective of whether the local authority has submitted a new GTAA for approval, the local authority remains under a statutory duty to meet any outstanding need which has been identified in the existing approved GTAA up to the date the next GTAA is approved.

Section 56 of the Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013 provides the power for local authorities to meet this need. However, local authorities will recognise there are a range of tools at their disposal to support them to achieve this duty.

Local authorities should consider how far each of the following options can assist them in providing for the unmet need:

• providing local authority sites
• supporting households to develop viable private sites
• supporting households to develop viable community led approaches such as community land trusts (CLT)

Option A will give local authorities the ability to control the allocation of pitches on these sites. This would mean future pitch vacancies could be filled as best required to address overcrowding or homelessness within the area. In addition, in some circumstances, vacancies on such sites could be used to relocate those on unauthorised encampments.

If local authorities decide to pursue Option A to meet some, or all, of the unmet needs for accommodation they may be eligible for the Welsh Government’s Sites Capital Grant. To be eligible for the Sites Capital Grant, local authorities must retain the ownership or leasehold of the site to be refurbished or developed. Potential new sites must also have the necessary planning permission in place before applications for Sites Capital Grant funding can be submitted.

Option B would involve the local authority working proactively with Gypsy or Traveller households who have a viable opportunity to develop private sites in the area. Responses to questionnaire section C will provide local authorities with information regarding aspirations for private sites. Local planning authorities should seek to discuss proposals with Gypsies and Travellers at the earliest possible opportunity to ensure only viable site applications are progressed. Planning Aid Wales may be able to assist with some community engagement in relation to site proposals.

An assessment of viability will depend on a range of factors, including the relevant local planning policies. Local authorities with rural exception policies allowing Gypsy and Traveller sites may increase the likelihood of viable sites being found, as land may be cheaper in more rural locations. Local authorities should discuss the viability of private sites with interested individuals on a case-by-case basis.

Pursuing option B would not meet the local authorities duty to provide the additional sites required until the new pitches are available for occupation. Nevertheless, supporting households to develop private sites should incur negligible costs to the local authority and may well help meet future demand for sites.

Option C would involve the local authority working proactively with Gypsy or Traveller households to develop a more community led approach such as a CLT.

A CLT is a mechanism for acquiring and holding land and property for the benefit of a defined locality or community. The purpose of CLTs is commonly to provide affordable housing. 

A CLT could hold the value of the land for the community in perpetuity while allowing the land to be used by others for accommodation purposes. CLTs must be not-for-profit organisations in which the community owns the land and/or property or assets in trust.

A site could be owned by the CLT itself, rather than the occupants, and would be maintained for the use of these communities indefinitely rather than being private sites owned by particular individuals.

Local authorities could consider constituting part of the membership of the CLT, along with members of the Gypsy or Traveller community and other relevant individuals or organisations.

Such schemes may be more attractive than living on local authority sites to certain communities, for example, New Travellers. The cultural desire for ecological and cooperative living amongst this community may lend itself to this type of development.

When assessing whether to pursue options such as private sites or CLTs, local authorities should review participant answers under section C of the questionnaire. 

Plans to develop Gypsy and Traveller site CLTs have been proposed in recent years. However, the major obstacle has been securing land to develop. If this barrier can be overcome by local authorities, this type of site may be a viable alternative to local authority or privately provided sites.

The data collected through the accommodation assessment process will inform the preparation of Development Plans. Having due regard to this guidance should support local authorities to demonstrate that the data relating to Gypsies and Travellers in their LDP is robust and evidence based. Local authorities will also need to demonstrate the unmet need identified will be met through the planning system.

Development Plans should, where appropriate, include site-specific proposals to meet the identified need in the LDP period and criteria-based policies to make provision for any additional need arising during that period.

Where LDPs have been adopted, local planning authorities will need to review their policies on Gypsy and Traveller accommodation needs at the next LDP Annual Monitoring Review (AMR). Where the review indicates that LDP policies are not delivering sufficient pitches to meet the identified need, a plan revision should be considered. Revising the plan will require the identification of potential sites for the development of pitches which will address the unmet need. The revised plan should include enough pitches to meet the full unmet need.

Local authorities will be aware the process of identifying sites and achieving planning permission can be a lengthy one. These processes will be subject to public consultation and decisions may be contested by residents or businesses. Therefore, local authorities should ensure their evidence base for planning applications is robust.

The data collected for the purposes of the GTAA may also inform the local authorities work in other ways.