More traveller sites for West Berkshire?

The district council is considering providing more suitable sites for gypsies and travellers

WEST Berkshire may soon be home to several new sites for gypsies and travellers under plans being considered by the district council.

The council is considering increasing provisions for travelling communities under the equality impact assessment of its core strategy for providing more housing in the district.

West Berkshire Council spokesman Phil Spray said: “The council has a legal responsibility to assess the need for and provide suitable sites in the district for gypsies, travellers and travelling showpeople. In order to establish the level of need we are required to conduct an assessment. The evidence from this suggests that there is a need for further pitches in the district.”

He said that further detail of the number and location of pitches will be provided in the Site Allocations and Delivery Development Plan Document which will be published at an unspecified date in the future.

The Equality Impact Assessment of the West Berkshire Core Strategy document, published by the council, states that the core strategy will have a positive impact on the gypsy and traveller community in providing them with authorised sites, providing play provision for the children and enabling them to have access to key services such as schools, shops and to help health services.

It says that in meeting the needs for authorised sites, it will avoid the possibility of the issues raised by unauthorised encampments.

District councillor Alan Macro (Lib Dem, Theale), who recently had problems with gypsies unlawfully camping in his ward, said that it was becoming increasingly difficult for travellers to be removed from a site once they have settled there because they can argue that there are not enough legal sites available that they can apply for permission for.

He said: “We have a problem in West Berkshire that we do not have enough traveller pitches and this means that if travellers apply for planning permission, they have a much easier time of it [than other people applying for permission to develop land].

“That means that some members of the community are treated differently from everybody else. For that reason, we have to provide more pitches, so that equal provision is available for all,” he added.