Report for Conservative Leadership Group (CLG) On: 9Th July 2007

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

PLANNING AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS PANEL

TUESDAY 6 MAY 2008 AT 10.00AM

EERA/Government consultation of draft RSS policy on planning for gypsy and traveller accommodation in the East of England

Author: Paul DonovanTel:01992 556289

Executive Member:Derrick Ashley (Planning, Partnerships and Waste)

Purpose of report

1.1To assist the Panel in advising Cabinet on a County Council response to a consultation by the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA)/Government on a draft East of England Plan [Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS)] policy on planning for gypsy and traveller accommodation in the Region.

2.Summary

2.1EERA has been preparing an Alteration (‘draft policy’) to the RSS to make provision for the accommodation needs of the gypsy and traveller community in the Region. The intention is that it identifies levels of provision to be provided in each local authority area for which local planning authorities would then be required to allocate sites in their Local Development Documents.

2.2At its meeting of 25th January 2008 EERA agreed a draft gypsy and traveller policy for submission to Government and it is that policy that is the subject of this public consultation. Following the consultation there will be an Examination in Public (EiP) later in the year, chaired by an independent EiP Panel appointed by the Government. That EiP Panel will make recommendations to Government following which the policy, as amended if necessary, will be approved by Government and comprise part of the RSS for the Region.

2.3The County Council has responded to two previous consultations on the Gypsy and Traveller Alteration. Many of the issues previously raised remain and the proposal within the report is that the County Council response to the consultation repackages these, supplemented by a number of specific issues relating to the proposed draft policy. A draft response is attached to the Cabinet report and summarised in Section 5 of that report. The main points of concern are as follows:

Spatial options - whether adequate reasonable alternative options for spatial distribution of growth have been considered to satisfy Government guidance. If the conclusion is that there has not, the draft response suggests that a ‘quick fix’ option would be base pitch levels on Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessments (GTAAs) (as amended by EERA’s consultants) carried out by local authorities and restrict pitch provision to the period to 2011 only. Pitch requirements beyond 2011 would then be taken forward through the imminent main review of RSS. In Hertfordshire this approach represents a total pitch figure of 115 pitches to 2011.

District/sub-regional pitch figures - whether it is appropriate to distribute growth to every local authority in the Region. In Hertfordshire this results in a pitch allocation 53% above assessed need and Green Belt implications. This is unacceptable.

Provision beyond 2011 – applying a 3% annual compound growth rate to total local authority pitch figures at 2011 exacerbates concerns about the robustness of proposed district level pitch figures to 2011. This would result in a requirement for 330 pitches in Hertfordshire which would be considerably in excess of need and likely to require Green Belt releases and therefore potentially in conflict with Government Guidance. This is unacceptable. A more robust approach might be to restrict this Alteration to the period to 2011 and require a further round of GTAA preparation throughout the Region to look to the longer term. These would be prepared on a consistent basis in a partnership between the local authorities and EERA and would inform the main RSS Review which will follow immediately upon approval of the current draft RSS (spring/summer 2008).

3.Conclusion

3.1Panel are asked to consider whether the draft response attached to the accompanying report to Cabinet represents an appropriate response to the consultation.

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

CABINET

12 May 2008

EERA/Government consultation of draft RSS policy on planning for gypsy and traveller accommodation in the East of England

Report of the Director of Environment

Author: Paul DonovanTel:01992 556289

Executive Members:Derrick Ashley (Planning, Partnerships and Waste)

1.Purpose of report

1.1To assist Cabinet in determining a County Council response to a consultation by Government on a draft East of England Plan [Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS)] policy on planning for gypsy and traveller accommodation in the East of England.

2.Summary

2.1EERA has been preparing an Alteration to the RSS to make provision for the accommodation needs of the gypsy and traveller community in the Region. The intention is that it identifies levels of provision to be provided in each local authority area for which local planning authorities would then be required to allocate sites in their Local Development Documents.

2.3The County Council has responded to two previous consultations on the Gypsy and Traveller Alteration. Many of the issues previously raised remain and the proposal within this report is that the County Council response to the consultation repackages these, supplemented by a number of specific issues relating to the proposed draft policy. A draft response is attached and summarised in section 5. The main points of concern are as follows:

Spatial options - whether adequate reasonable alternative options for spatial distribution of growth have been considered to satisfy Government guidance. If the conclusion is that there has not, the draft response suggests that a ‘quick fix’ option would be base pitch levels on Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessments (GTAAs) (as amended by EERA’s consultants) carried out by local authorities and restrict pitch provision to the period to 2011 only. Pitch requirements beyond 2011 would then be taken forward through the imminent main review of RSS. In Hertfordshire this approach represents a total pitch figure of 115 pitches to 2011.

District/sub-regional pitch figures - whether it is appropriate to distribute growth to every local authority in the Region. In Hertfordshire this results in a pitch allocation 53% above assessed need and Green Belt implications. This is unacceptable.

Provision beyond 2011 – applying a 3% annual compound growth rate to total local authority pitch figures at 2011 exacerbates concerns about the robustness of proposed district level pitch figures to 2011. This would result in a requirement for 330 pitches in Hertfordshire which would be considerably in excess of need and likely to require Green Belt releases and therefore potentially in conflict with Government Guidance. This is unacceptable. A more robust approach might be to restrict this Alteration to the period to 2011 and require a further round of GTAA preparation throughout the Region to look to the longer term. These would be prepared on a consistent basis in a partnership between the local authorities and EERA and would inform the main RSS Review which will follow immediately upon approval of the current draft RSS (spring/summer 2008).

2.4This report is being considered by the Planning and External Relations Panel on 6th May 2008 and any comments will be reported to Cabinet separately.

3.Conclusion

Cabinet is asked to consider whether the attached draft response to the consultation, in light of any advice of the Planning and External Relations Panel, should form the basis of a County Council response to the consultation.

4.Background

4.1Appendix 1 contains a table which summarises the various proposals for levels of pitch need/provision in Hertfordshire from various sources and is referred to at various points in this report.

Ongoing assessment of need and site identification in Hertfordshire by the Hertfordshire local authorities

4.2Local authorities in Hertfordshire have over recent years been assessing the accommodation needs of the gypsy and traveller community in the County. This has been approached through two separate processes – one involving the five authorities in south and west Hertfordshire, the other the five authorities in the north and east. Both areas have undertaken what are known as Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessments (GTAAs) – assessing the level of accommodation need anticipated in a five year period. The GTAAs take the form of assessments by specialist consultancy services. Both studies found that there is no evidence of need that can be ascribed to specific districts – the gypsy and traveller community are generally more interested in the quality of the accommodation available rather than its particular location. The level of need assessed is therefore at a sub-regional level (presented in column 2 of Appendix 1).

4.3Both partnerships followed their GTAAs by commissioning planning consultants to identify a range of sites that might be suitable to meet identified need. The consultants advice will inform the preparation of Local Development Documents by boroughs/districts.

Requirement for the RSS Alteration

4.4Since 2002 EERA has been preparing a full RSS review for the Region and final publication is expected in spring/summer 2008. During the course of preparing the RSS Government issued revised guidance (Circular 01/06) on how the planning system should go about meeting the accommodation needs of the gypsy and traveller community. Amongst other matters Government expects regional assemblies to make specific provision for the accommodation needs of the gypsy and traveller community within RSSs. Given that at 2006 the draft main RSS was already well progressed EERA chose to commit itself to the preparation of an immediate Alteration of it to specifically deal with gypsy and traveller accommodation issues.

What has happened so far?

4.5There have already been a number of stages in the Alteration process. A consultation on a Project Plan and a Statement of Community Involvement has occurred, the purpose of which are to set out how the Alteration is to be progressed and who the Assembly proposes to engage with in doing so and how. The County Council responded to these documents in October 2006.

4.6EERA also asked the County Council for its advice (as it is required to do by law) on the Alteration, including the County Council’s views on an appropriate scale of provision in the County. The County Council’s response, prepared in liaison with districts/boroughs, was considered by Cabinet in November 2006. The response made can be summarised as follows:

there is no evidence of need on a district by district basis in Hertfordshire.
there is a need for consistency of need assessment across the region.
RSS should only identify pitch requirements for a five year period.
subject to the results of any consistency analysis, the outputs of the two Hertfordshire GTAAs should be used as the assessment of gypsy and traveller need in the County.
RSS is a spatial planning document – there is a need to develop different spatial strategy approaches to accommodate identified need in the Region.

Regional research and national guidance on how RSSs should handle the identification of gypsy and traveller pitch figures at local authority level

4.7In the early stages of the RSS Alteration EERA commissioned consultancy services to undertake research to evaluate the GTAAs undertaken (or not in some areas), to advise on robustness and consistency issues of them (for example, how any inconsistencies can be resolved and how gaps in assessments can be addressed) and how it might be possible to specify the level of gypsy and traveller pitch numbers to be provided in each local authority area in the Region. Government recognised that the issues facing the East of England are replicated across the country and provided additional funding to use the consultants to prepare national advice/research on how RSSs should go about planning for gypsy and traveller accommodation needs.

4.8Amongst other matters, the study concludes that:

there is a level of need in the Region for 1,220 gypsy and traveller pitches in the period to 2011.
in Hertfordshire the consistency analysis results in the following alterations to the two need assessments in the County:
South and West Herts falls from 125 to 70 pitches.
North and East Herts rises from 35 to 45 pitches.
the most up to date assessment of need within Hertfordshire is therefore 115 pitches (Column 4 of Appendix 1).
applying a methodology to apportion sub-regional need identified in the two studies into specific figures for each local authority area results in the distribution for Hertfordshire set out in column 4of Appendix 1.
there is an estimate of an additional 300 pitches required in the Region to meet transit needs but further research is required to better quantify that need. There is no attempt to identify a distribution for how such need could be accommodated.
there are concentrations of gypsy and traveller communities at Basildon, Chelmsford, Fenland and South Cambridgeshire within which 45% of the total regional need arises. The consultants conclude that there is a case to distribute growth from these areas to other parts of the Region to offer the community a greater choice of sites.

EERA Issues and Options consultation

4.9In May 2007 EERA consulted upon an Issues and Options consultation seeking views on a range of issues including a proposed regional total level of pitch provision for the period 2006-2011 (1,220 pitches), whether pitch levels beyond 2011 should be specified, whether provision for transit as well as residential pitches should be made and two illustrative options for the distribution of the regional total to district level. The first of these options reflected EERA’s consultant’s review of GTAA’s in the Region (see paragraph 4.8 and column 4 of Appendix 1). The second took an approach which raised pitch provision requirements in every district to a minimum of 15 pitches (see column 5 of Appendix 1). Where a distict level ‘need’ figure identified in option 1 falls below 15, the figure for that district is raised to 15. Where the ‘need’ figure is at or above 15, the figure remains unchanged. The rationale for this being that it is desirable for every district in the region to provide at least 15 pitches. In doing so this approach also redistributes growth from a number of areas of high levels of need (Basildon, Chelmsford, Fenland and South Cambridgeshire).

4.10Cabinet considered the County Council’s response to the Issues and Options consultation at its meeting of 23 July 2007. The County Council’s response can be summarised as follows:

the region-wide proposed total (1,220 pitches) and the reassessment of the Hertfordshire GTAAs (reducing total need from 160 to 115) seemed reasonable.
there is insufficient evidence to make robust provision for transit needs (in addition to the 1,220 residential pitches).
the Alteration should only make provision for pitch requirements to 2011 as satisfactory evidence on need beyond that timeframe does not exist. 3% compound growth rates should not be used to extrapolate pitch requirements beyond the 2011 timeframe.
the Alteration should contain sub-regional figures only as robust district level figures can only be derived by detailed planning exercises by local authorities.
of the two illustrative options presented in the consultation document, neither would be appropriate. Both seek to identify need at a district level at which, in the case of Hertfordshire at least, it does not exist. There seemed to be little spatial planning rationale for the approach in Option 2 of spreading growth around everywhere in the Region (accompanied by not meeting full assessed need in parts of the Region with high need levels).
the Alteration process has failed to consider an appropriate range of spatial strategy options for accommodating the accommodation needs of gypsies and travellers.
there is a need to take a countrywide perspective on meeting the accommodation needs of the gypsy and traveller community.

Consideration by the Regional Planning Panel and by the Regional Assembly

4.11Following the Issues and Options consultation EERA officers recommended a draft gypsy and traveller policy to the Regional Planning Panel (meeting of 12th December 2007) of the Regional Assembly. That policy involved:

i.a slight downward revision of the regional total to 1187 pitches.

ii.specific district level figures for each local planning authority area for the period 2006-2011.

iii.a spatial distribution which sought to redistribute some of the high levels of need identified in parts of the Region (Basildon, Chelmsford, Fenland and South Cambridgeshire) across the whole of the Region on the following basis:

a).all local authority areas should accommodate a minimum growth of 10 pitches. If assessed need is estimated below 10 then the Alteration would require that authority to provide 10 pitches.

b).in local authorities in close proximity to parts of the Region with high levels of estimated need, these local authorities would receive a higher proportion of redistributed growth. This approach affected a number of districts in Hertfordshire (column 6 of Appendix 1– elevating provision in East Hertfordshire and North Hertfordshire).

c).due to constraints in some areas (including Green Belt) in some parts of the Region redistribution would not apply. This approach also affecting a number of districts in Hertfordshire (column 6 of Appendix 1 - ThreeRivers, Stevenage and Watford).

iv.flexibility for groupings of local authorities at a sub-regional level to redistribute their district pitch figures to take account of detailed planning at the sub-regional/local level.

v.a requirement for local planning authorities in their Local Development Documents to plan for longer term pitch growth beyond 2011 using a 3% annual compound growth rate based on total number of planned pitches in existence at 2011 in their areas.

The total for Hertfordshire would be 161 under this approach – 40% above assessed need in the County.

4.12Regional Planning Panel accepted the proposed policy apart from iii, preferring an approach which elevated all local authority pitch requirement to 15 pitches, removal of the approach to higher levels of growth in local authorities neighbouring (including East Hertfordshire and North Hertfordshire) parts of the Region with high levels of estimated need and removal of restricted growth at locations such as Three Rivers, Stevenage and Watford. The consequence of this approach is shown in Column 7 of Appendix 1. The overall total pitch provision for Hertfordshire rises to 176 pitches, some 53% higher than estimated need. The recommendation from Regional Planning Panel to the Regional Assembly was that this policy approach should be submitted to Government. That view was endorsed by the Assembly and the policy is the subject of this consultation.