Equalities watchdog expresses concern at failure of planning authorities to allocate sites for elderly or disabled Gypsies and Travellers

Planning authorities are failing to allocate sites for Gypsies and Travellers who have stopped travelling due to old age, ill-health, educational needs or disability, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has said this month.

Its report Gypsy and Traveller sites: the revised planning definition’s impact on assessing accommodation needs assessed the impact of the revised definition of ‘Gypsies’ and 'Travellers’ in the Planning Policy for Traveller Sites 2015, which it said no longer includes those who have stopped travelling permanently.

According to the EHRC, when planning authorities assessed how many pitches were needed following this change in definition, the requirement fell from 1,299 to 345.

It said: “This suggests that the needs of a significant number of people in the Gypsy and Traveller community, who still require culturally appropriate accommodation but no longer follow a nomadic lifestyle, are not being considered.”

This lack of sites could be a factor in the increase in unauthorised encampments in England, the EHRC said.

Its chair David Isaac said: “It is clear that a lack of adequate site provision is impacting Gypsies and Travellers’ rights to live in culturally appropriate accommodation and may be contributing to the rise in unauthorised encampments.

“Not having suitable housing exacerbates the inequalities that Gypsy and Traveller communities face. To be entirely forgotten in local authority assessments is unacceptable.”

He warned the government that a forthcoming United Nations review on racial inequality would “place a spotlight” on the issue.

The EHRC also said its research found an inconsistent approach to planning policies across different councils.

Only eight out of the 20 it assessed had plans that aimed to accommodate the needs of those who did not meet the definition for Gypsies and Travellers.

Mark Smulian