Draft letter to Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government

Churches Network for Gypsies, Travellers and Roma

DORCHESTER

Dorset

Dominic Raab MP

House of Commons

London, SW1A 0AA

Consultation: Powers for dealing with unauthorised development and encampments

Dear Mr Raab,

Yet again, a there seem to be proposals underway to make life ever more difficult for Gypsies and Travellers, and yet again, the consultation is entirely negative in terms of the impact it is having on community relations and the well-being of the Gypsy and Traveller communities.

We deplore the fact that the consultation is couched in such negative terms - “dealing with” is a term ill-suited to the need to tackle problems which successive Conservative Governments have created for some of the most vulnerable people in our country.

Churches Network for Gypsies, Travellers and Roma strongly suggests that the questions which needs to be asked are:

• What aspects of current policy are creating conditions which impel people to continue travelling and to occupy unauthorised sites? (1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act and 2015 Planning policy guidance for Traveller sites to name but two)
• How could Gypsies and Travellers who wish to settle on designated sites be assisted to do so?
  
• What mixture of publicly provided and private sites do we need and how do we achieve this?
  
• What good practice is there which enables local authorities to create safe and harmonious conditions for travelling families and local communities? (Negotiated stopping, for example)
  
• How can the enormous prejudice which compromises the health, education and welfare of Gypsy and Traveller families be addressed?

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require clarification of any of the points made above. We are a national network of ordained and lay Christians from a variety of different denominations, committed to aiding understanding and acceptance of Gypsies, Travellers and Roma.

Yours sincerely,

Draft letter to Boston Standard

Churches Network for Gypsies, Travellers and Roma

Hilfield Friary

Hilfield

DORCHESTER

Dorset

DT2 7BE

The Editor

Boston Standard

Morgan House

Gilbert Drive

BOSTON

Lincs

PE21 7TQ

“Illegal traveller encampments to face prison or £2k fine”

Dear Sir,

Your article;e of 4^th April was helpful in explaining the policy and proposals of the Borough Council, but we were concerned that, as only negative views of Gypsies and Travellers were quoted, the article lacked balance and context, and could consequently have an adverse effect on community relations locally. It is our view that tension and hostility is stoked up rather than ameliorated by policies and news stories couched in wholly negative terms. In our experience, this rebounds especially harshly on Gypsy and Traveller children resident in the area and seeking to gain an education there. Resident adults who are responsibly fulfilling their roles in your community will be less likely to self-identify as Gypsy or Traveller, with the consequence that positive experiences of interaction with these minorities will go unnoticed and unappreciated.

In order to achieve balance it would have been helpful to consult either a national organisation (Friends, Families and Travellers, or Traveller Movement or The Gypsy Council) or your local organisation, Lincolnshire Gypsy Liaison Group.

As regards context, it would have been relevant to note some or all of the following:

• since the removal of the duty for local authorities to provide sites in 1994, the national under-provision of sites where people can legally settle or stop has worsened markedly;
• the 2015 Planning policy guidance for Traveller sites required that Gypsies and Travellers should be able to prove that they had continued travelling in order to be even considered for planning permission. This very predictably has forced people to move from one unauthorised site to another, even if they wish to settle;
• it should be acknowledged that not all encampments result in litter or anti-social behaviour; as one editor commented to a Dorset group, “It’s not news when they leave a clean and tidy space behind”.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if yo have any queries about the points raised. We are a national network of ordained and lay Christians from a variety of different denominations, committed to aiding understanding and acceptance of Gypsies, Travellers and Roma.

Yours truly,

Draft letter to Boston Borough Council

Churches Network for Gypsies, Travellers and Roma

Mr Michael Cooper

Municipal Buildings

West Street

Boston

Lincolnshire

Dear Mr Cooper,

“Illegal traveller encampments to face prison or £2k fine”

We note from an article in the Boston Standard on 4^th April that Boston Borough Council has experienced problems with unauthorised encampments of Gypsies and Travellers and has consequently sought and been granted powers to compel those involved in future to move on or face either prison or a fine.

We do appreciate, as do many in the Gypsy and Traveller communities, that nobody wants messy and anti-social neighbours. However, we would respectfully point out that not all encampments are so undesirable, and that the major problem with your policy is that those encamped may not have anywhere that they can move on to, owing to the widely acknowledged under-provision of sites throughout the country.

We suggest that consultation with the Lincolnshire Gypsy Liaison Group might in future enable you to come to agreed solutions without the need for a constant round of evictions, leading to increased community tensions. Where Gypsies and Travellers have been allowed to camp peacefully for short periods in areas known to us, good relations have been established with both local residents and the local authority, and people have moved on when the reason for their presence no longer prevails. In Romani, New Traveller and Irish Traveller cultures, there are recognised techniques for ensuring that an encampment does not scar the local landscape. There are also local authorities who have, by consulting with those arriving in this way, been able to ensure that rubbish and litter is avoided or kept to a minimum.

It is our view that tension and hostility is stoked up rather than ameliorated by policies and news stories couched in wholly negative terms. In our experience, this rebounds especially harshly on Gypsy and Traveller children resident in the area and seeking to gain an education there. Resident adults who are responsibly fulfilling their roles in your community will be less likely to self-identify as Gypsy or Traveller, with the consequence that positive experiences of interaction with these minorities will go unnoticed and unappreciated.

Should you wish for more information about any of the points raised here, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are a national network of ordained and lay Christians from a variety of different denominations, committed to aiding understanding and acceptance of Gypsies, Travellers and Roma.

Yours truly,