Issue - meetings

RESOLVED: That

1.  The Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Development Plan Document – scoping, issues and options (Regulation 18a) with suggested amendments (Amended Appendix 1 to the report) is agreed for a seven-week public consultation between 28th February and 17th April 2023.

2.  A targeted Call for Sites exercise takes place concurrent to the Regulation 18a consultation (Appendices 4 and 5 to the report).

3.  The Interim Local Plan Review Director be given delegated authority to finalise the format of Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople DPD Scoping, Issues and Options Document for presentation to the Lead Member for Planning and Infrastructure, including any minor corrections required.

(See Record of Decision)

The Lead Member for Planning and Infrastructure introduced the report providing background to the Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Development Plan Document (DPD); outlining the contents of the Scoping, Issues and Options consultation document; summarising the key findings of the Interim Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Accommodation Assessment (GTAA); and outlining the reasons for undertaking an additional, targeted, Call for Sites exercise alongside the pubic consultation.  It was noted that:

·  The Council had a statutory responsibility to assess and plan for the housing needs of all residents in the Borough, including the Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople population.

·  The emerging Local Plan Review (LPR) did not plan for the needs of the Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople population so the decision was taken to address the matter comprehensively and robustly through a separate DPD – based on the emerging evidence indicating a high accommodation need requirement, plus a relatively low number of sites submitted for this purpose during the 2019 Call for Sites exercise.

·  The Regulation 18a Scoping, Issues and Options consultation document was the first step in public consultation on this DPD.  Its aim was to set out the indicative interim accommodation needs of the Borough’s Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople population; to identify the challenges faced by the authority in this regard; and to ask how best to plan to meet the identified accommodation needs.

·  Underpinning the DPD was a Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Accommodation Assessment or GTAA.  This was currently in interim form and would require further work.  It had been undertaken by specialist independent consultants – Opinion Research Services.  The final GTAA and associated need figures were expected later this year once the final site survey work and interviews had concluded.

·  The interim GTAA expressed accommodation needs in terms of numbers of pitches and plots required over the period 2019 to 2040.  Whilst the interim GTAA showed an unadjusted need for several hundred pitches, the need that the authority would be required to find pitches for would be significantly less.  The remainder could be delivered through criteria-based policies.  The need figures would be adjusted as the GTAA was finalised.

·  The Regulation 18a document represented the first stage in public consultation on this DPD.  It was a high-level document, asking a series of questions on what the final DPD ought to contain and therefore fulfilled government requirements.

·  Respondents were free to answer as many questions as they liked, using the online objective system or by completing and returning a response form by email or post.  There would also be a page on the Council’s “Let’s Talk Maidstone” website, where people could provide comments using a map.

·  Alongside the Regulation 18a consultation, it was proposed to undertake a further targeted Call for Sites exercise – seeking to identify and assess any additional land that might be suitable to provide sites for future Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople accommodation.

In response to questions/comments:

The Officers/Lead Member undertook to:

·  Re-order the bullet points under Section 10 of the Regulation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 153