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23
Mar
Council seeks company to manage North Yorkshire travellers sites
North Yorkshire Council is set to advertise a contract to manage travellers sites in the county.
The council, which is legally obliged to provide sites for travellers, plans to award a contract to a company to manage gypsy, Roma and traveller sites and provide domestic abuse support services to residents.
Currently, Horton Housing Association, which is based in Bradford, oversees four sites and the council’s in-house housing team manages the rest.
Meanwhile, domestic abuse services is grant funded and commissioned separately.
In a report, Kim Robertshaw, head of housing needs at the council, said the current system represented “operational inefficiencies and inconsistent service standards” and needed to be streamlined into a single contract.
She added that the provision of gypsy and traveller sites was a council obligation.
Ms Robertshaw said:
The provision of gypsy and traveller sites is a council obligation and as part of the Local Plan procedure additional pitches may need to be found across North Yorkshire.
It is imperative that we have a good provider working with us who may be able to assist with the challenges of providing these.
The move comes as the council has previously admitted that it cannot demonstrate a five-year land supply for travellers sites in the region.
The authority has a duty to assess the need for travellers sites in its area and identify land for potential authorised sites.
The council operates official traveller sites across North Yorkshire, including two in the Harrogate area at Thistle Hill in Knaresborough and Bickerton, near Wetherby.
However, a government planning inspector noted in a recent planning appeal there was an “unmet need” for sites in Harrogate when they overturned a refusal for a private encampment near Starbeck in September last year.
The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Council why it lacked a supply of sites and what it was doing to tackle the problem.
Nic Harne, director for community development at the council, said a Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) was completed in 2017 which helped to “shape local planning policies and identifying land”.
However, Mr Harne said the government guidance on travellers sites changed in December 2023 — which ultimately left the council with no five-year land supply.
He said:
At the time, only gypsies and travellers who were actively travelling were counted under national planning rules. Those who had stopped travelling due to age, health, or education were not included.
However, in December 2023, the rules changed and required councils to consider the needs of all gypsies and travellers, whether they were travelling or not. Therefore, the 2017 GTAA is outdated and we cannot show a five-year land supply.
According to government planning guidance, if an authority cannot demonstrate a five-year land supply of “specific, deliverable sites”, it should “grant planning permission to sites that come forward unless the land is protected”.
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