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Section 8: Gypsy Sites

INTRODUCTION

3.222 The Borough and County Councils have made a determined effort to identify those Gypsy families with close associations to the Borough. In the early 1980's, the provision of the permanent site at Park Hall by the County Council and the approval of several individual private sites was seen as having satisfactorily met the needs of the local Gypsy population. Oswestry Borough was one of the first Authorities in the country, and the first in the County, to achieve designation under the 1968 Caravan Sites Act.

3.223 The adequacy of this provision has been regularly reviewed. The Park Hall site has been extended to 13 pitches, and an additional site for 6 pitches has been allowed at Farm Hall, Kinnerley. Throughout this period there has also been a tendency for some of the Gypsy population to opt for permanent housing.

3.224 The Council's designation is now due for review and there is an acceptance that some further provision to accommodate an increase in the indigenous population may be necessary. Throughout this process, it has never been accepted that any Transit site provision in the Borough could be justified.

3.225 The Council has only rarely had to use its designatory powers, and illegal encampments have been few, mainly by long distance travellers who cannot claim any long term regular association with the area.

3.226 The degree of certainty offered by designation is soon to disappear with the repeal of parts of the 1968 Act. Furthermore, although Councils will still have the power to provide sites, they will no longer have the duty to do so.

3.227 The D.O.E. Circular 1/94 makes it clear that the Local Plan process should take account of the needs of Gypsies. Therefore, two policies are set out below, one site-specific and one containing general criteria against which applications for new sites can be assessed.

Policy H31: Extension of Existing Gypsy Sites
Policy H32: New Gypsy Sites
Back to Local Plan 1996-2006