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Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Site Allocations DPD Further Call for Sites

The South Worcestershire Councils (Malvern Hills, Worcester and Wychavon) are in the process of preparing a Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) that will identify land to accommodate Travellers and Travelling Showpeople across south Worcestershire. The DPD will identify a supply of deliverable sites, sufficient to provide five years’ worth of plots against the level of need identified in the 2014 Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA). The DPD will also identify sites for growth for years 2019/20 to 2023/24 and, where possible, for years 2024/25 to 2028/29.

In February / March 2015, the South Worcestershire Councils conducted a Call for Sites which provided an opportunity for individuals, organisations and other stakeholders to submit sites that they considered might be suitable for Traveller or Travelling Showpeople use. 17 sites were submitted during that call for sites. Following a detailed assessment, 7 of the 17 submitted sites were considered to meet, or have the potential to meet, the essential planning suitability criteria and were proposed as potentially deliverable sites. The two urban extensions were also considered to meet the essential suitability criteria and were proposed as potentially developable sites.

In March / April 2016, the South Worcestershire Councils consulted on a Preferred Options document which outlined the Councils’ preferred options for how the future accommodation needs of Travellers and Travelling Showpeople can be met. The consultation document identified 9 sites where it was considered that new Traveller pitches could potentially be allocated.

Following the Preferred Options consultation earlier in 2016, the South Worcestershire Councils considered that additional Traveller pitches may be required to provide five years’ worth of sites against locally set targets. The South Worcestershire Councils therefore conducted a further Call for Sites which provided an opportunity for individuals and organisations to suggest any further sites that they considered might be suitable for allocation as a Traveller or Travelling Showpeople site. Proposals could be for either new sites or an expansion or intensification of an existing site. Proposals were invited for permanent residential sites or transit sites / temporary stopping places.

All sites submitted underwent a rigorous assessment against specific planning criteria to assess their potential suitability. Submitting a site for consideration did not guarantee that it will be found suitable or that it will be allocated as part of the emerging DPD. Any sites that are allocated in the DPD would still be required to follow the normal planning procedures in securing planning permission. The deadline for suggesting potential sites as part of this Call for Sites was 9am on Monday 9 January 2017.