‘Informal’ traveller sites plan to curb parks usage
ANETWORK of short-term traveller sites could be opened in Birmingham in a bid to stop caravans moving onto parks and sites near homes, a report has suggested.
Temporary and ‘informal’ locations – potentially awaiting development or disused land – were listed as an option in a new assessment being prepared into gypsy and traveller accommodation in the city.
The city’s only official site in Proctor Street, Aston, has been closed for more than a year after it was vandalised, with councillors demanding answers as to why repairs had taken so long.
It is set to re-open “within the month” but a report said repairs had taken longer than expected due to the level of damage, “unforeseen complications” with the electrical supply, lengthy contractor response times and spend-control processes.
But the same document also showed the number of unauthorised encampments during 2023/2024 was
the highest since the pandemic.
During a licensing and public protection committee meeting, councillors angrily questioned why Proctor Street had not yet re-opened to help tackle the issue.
“We hear excuse after excuse after excuse as to why Proctor Street is not up and running,” claimed Cllr Sam Forsyth (Lab, Quinton). “For the second city not to have a designated, official travellers site is a disgrace – when is Proctor Street actually going to be
open? Meanwhile, we all get complaints from residents when travellers go onto parks and we have nowhere to redirect people to – and we are dealing with people at the end of the day,” she said. The council report said a revised Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment was being prepared, which suggested an option to provide temporary and ‘informal’ negotiated stopping sites.
It said: “These would be sites which are only temporarily available due, for example, to the fact they are awaiting development or currently disused and could be utilised to direct unauthorised encampments for a short, negotiated period.
“This would enable such encampments to be directed immediately away from sites more widely used by or having a greater impact on local residents such as parks”.
Martin Dando, from the planning policy team, told the committee meeting a more flexible approach, rather than a second ‘fixed’ site, would be cheaper, more reactive and could be implemented in a short space of time.
He said a second “designated and fixed” site would have to wait for the Local Plan as well as deal with planning permissions and legal issues.
Asked what steps were being taken to ensure Proctor Street was not forced to shut again, Carla Bates, a senior service manager from the central north housing team, said: “A business case has been submitted for general fund spending to be able to recruit people that can actually manage the site. We’re just waiting for a decision on that.”