15.1 As with reviewing the needs for general housing, the Council has a duty to consider the needs of the District's Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople. There are currently two public sites in the District which meet the needs of Gypsies and Travellers who do not own land, but rather have housing needs that are met locally on a rental basis. These sites are owned by Essex County Council. There are also a further 17 sites that are privately owned and home to a number of Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople households

15.2 The current LDP established Policy H6 which is a criteria-based policy to make provision for new Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople pitches/plots to meet District needs, which in 2017 stood at an additional 9 pitches.

15.3 The Council will be updating its Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) in 2021/2022 to ensure any further provision of pitches and plots in the District is based on up to date and robust information collected locally and project the future need forward to the at least 2043 as the existing GTAA only looked forward to 2033.

15.4 This will help us to understand if there have been any changes in local households since the last GTAA was prepared in 2016, such as older children needing a pitch of their own, in-migration, or new households forming within the community. The GTAA update will also help us review whether any of the District's Gypsy, Traveller or Travelling Showpeople households are currently living in over-crowded conditions or are concealed households due to social mobility or a lack of provision, to determine if there is a need in the LDP Review to identify existing sites that could safely be intensified or expanded, new sites allocated in the plan, or stronger policies that can support meeting the need.

15.5 Work remains underway by all Essex Local Planning Authorities through the Duty to Cooperate to establish whether there is a specific need for Transit Sites to be built in Essex to cater for Gypsies and Travellers who continue to travel to the county but have no-where authorised to pitch-up. This has been underway since 2018, however it has been impacted by Covid-19 and a fall in travelling lifestyle amongst the Gypsy & Traveller community due to lockdowns and a lack of work. The Council will remain part of this project during the LDP Review.

Issues and Options Consultation Questionnaire