A transit Gypsy and Traveller site proposed for Bournemouth would prevent travellers staying on unauthorised areas in the borough.

Following the recent arrival of a group of travellers at Turbary Park the Council is urging local residents to consider the benefits of an authorised traveller site in Bournemouth.

Sue Bickler, Head of Strategic Services, Bournemouth Borough Council said: “This current situation just highlights the need for an authorised Traveller and Gypsy site in the town. By having a dedicated site with decent facilities, this situation could have been avoided altogether as the travellers would be able to go directly to the site preventing them from pitching up on other, less suitable or equipped, areas of the borough.

“Were traveller groups to disregard this transit site and stay in an unauthorised area, the Police powers to move them on will be greatly enhanced from the current situation.  In addition, taxpayers’ money would also be saved on eviction and clear-up costs that have sometimes occurred in the past, following illegal encampments.”

Following a consultation last autumn by the South West Regional Assembly and a feasibility study, a consultation about a potential site for the provision of transit pitches for the Gypsy and Traveller community is due to start in June 2008. Residents will be able to provide their views on the proposed site which has been identified in the north of the borough.

Notes

The identified site is situated to the north-west of the Borough, adjacent to Ringwood Road near the bridge over the river Stour at Longham.  It would provide sanitation, toilets and showers for a limited number of travelling families, and would be licensed by the Council’s Public Protection Department.

The Council has written to the South West Alliance of Nomads (SWAN) giving them further information regarding the proposed site. Following discussions with representatives from the Gypsy and Traveller community and the Government’s Department for Communities and Local Government, appropriate public consultation will take place before finalising our funding bid to the Government by the end of July 2008.

The South West Regional Assembly public consultation last autumn was undertaken on the basis of twenty transit pitches in Bournemouth. However, the Examination in Public (EiP) earlier this month considered proposals from Bournemouth Council for ten pitches, based on a review of the anticipated demand. 

A government announcement is expected once the Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government has considered the recommendations of the EiP panel.

TRANSIT SITE: a site with a specific number of pitches, providing power and sanitation facilities for short-term, maximum stay use by travelling communities. 

PITCH: typically space for one travelling family and their vehicles.

CONSULTATION: Details of our consultation strategy will be available, together with a geographical outline of the identified site, within the next few weeks.

The process / intended timetable:

• Consultation with the Gypsy and Traveller community and Department for Communities & Local Government (by end April)
• Full public consultations (mid-May – end June)
• Final bid to government for funding (July)