Once you have bought a piece of land you will need to submit a planning application to the Local Planning Authority (LPA).
If you need the help of a planner to do this, you can find a selection of planners here.
The majority of planning applications are unsuccessful so you must be prepared to appeal against the decision made if necessary. This can be an expensive process, so please so consider this before you begin.
If you are on any benefits, like Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance, you may be entitled to free legal representation, however, it is very difficult to find solicitors willing and able to take this on. If you are on a low income and need assistance with your planning it may be possible to get help from Planning Aid, an independent organisation which assists people with planning issues.
Chapter 7 also offer free planning advice by telephone for smallholders, caravan dwellers and other low impact and low income people with planning problems. You can contact Chapter 7 on 01297 561 359.
If you are not able to get free legal representation or help from Planning Aid you will need to employ the services of a private planner and if your case goes to appeal, it is likely to cost you several thousand pounds.
Once a planning application is submitted the LPA will assess your application. A planning officer will either recommend that it should be accepted or refused. Most Gypsy and Traveller planning cases will go to committee where local councillors will make a decision on whether you should be given planning permission or not. They can ignore the recommendations of the planning officer and make their own decision, which unfortunately more often than means a refusal. You then have the right to appeal against their decision to the Planning Inspectorate.
At a planning hearing or inquiry, the Planning Inspectorate will look at the merits of your case. Your chances of success at this stage are better, although nothing is guaranteed. Your best chance of success at the appeal stage is if you have strong personal circumstances. This usually includes things like the fact that you have nowhere else to go (no other sites available to you) or you need to stay in the area for health and/or education reasons (your children attend the local school, you are registered with the doctor or you work locally).
For the purposes of the current planning policy (as of August 2015) ‘Gypsies and Travellers’ means:
“Persons of nomadic habit of life whatever their race or origin, including such persons who on grounds only of their own or their family’s or dependants’ educational or health needs or old age have ceased to travel temporarily, but excluding members of an organised group of travelling showpeople or circus people travelling together as such.”
And ‘Travelling Showpeople’ means:
“Members of a group organised for the purposes of holding fairs, circuses or shows (whether or not travelling together as such). This includes such persons who on the grounds of their own or their family’s or dependants’ more localised pattern of trading, educational or health needs or old age have ceased to travel temporarily, but excludes Gypsies and Travellers as defined above.”
Planning Policies
‘Planning Policy for Traveller Sites’ is the current planning policy on the provision of caravan sites for Gypsies and Travellers, including Travelling Showpeople. It should be read in conjunction with the government’s ‘National Planning Policy Framework’ which was published on 27 March 2012.
Planning Policy for Traveller Sites – New Definition of Gypsy and Traveller for planning purposes
In August 2015 the Government announced big changes to Gypsy and Traveller planning guidance, called Planning Policy for Traveller Sites (PPTS). This was following a consultation they issued in September 2014, and this is the government’s consultation response.
The new definition of Gypsy and Traveller under the PPTS guidance can affect planning applications, Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessments and local authority site provision. We have therefore developed a leaflet entitled “Changes to planning for Gypsies and Travellers” which explains what the changes are, how it might affect people and what you can do about it. Print friendly version here.
If you think you may be affected by these changes, please contact the Travellers Advice Team on 0121 6858677
Research – Site provision in South East England
In 2020, we undertook a piece of research to ascertain if local authorities in South East England were meeting their requirements under the then-Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (DCLG) Planning Policy for Traveller Sites (PPTS) to identify a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide 5 years’ worth of sites against locally set targets.
The research found that:
- Only 8 out of 68 local authorities had identified a 5 year supply of specific deliverable sites;
- 15 local authorities had no identified need for new sites;
- By 2043, 1170 additional pitches are needed in the South East, for those meeting the PPTS definition, and a further 1025 for those not meeting the definition.
