To receive a presentation from the Executive Member for Environmental and Regulatory Services.

The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services gave an overview of the presentation that had been circulated to the Committee with the agenda. The presentation covered the complex situation with the communities in question, the makeup of those communities, and how they identified themselves. 

During the summer there had been fourteen visits in Trafford compared to three or four in previous years. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services described some of the issues that Travellers and Gypsies faced when camping on sites, such as sanitation, and within the communities themselves including having access to education, health, and social care support. The Committee were informed of the process taken by the Council once notification of a Traveller or Gypsy visit was received. The process involved visits from regulatory services and the police to establish the needs of the people on the site. The Council then looked to provide facilities at the site and the police took steps to evict them from the land, which generally took about a week.

The main challenge regulatory services faced was getting facilities in place in a timely manner to improve sanitation and reduce the clean-up cost after they had moved on. The Committee were informed that part of the local plan looked to identify the needs of the Gypsy and Traveller communities in Trafford with a view to have a site available to use during the winter months and to have transitive sites for those looking to stay for a short period of time. Once these areas were set up it would allow people who settled on other sites to be moved onto those specific sites. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services concluded the presentation with the recent review by the government and the proposals that had come from the review.

Following the presentation Councillor Winstanley noted the high number of instances and asked if it was many different groups or one group moving from site to site. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services responded that it was a mixture of the two as there were not fourteen separate groups, but it was difficult to identify the exact number of groups as there was a lot of movement of and between them.

Councillor Winstanley asked how far Trafford were along with plans to provide that support. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services responded that Trafford had struggled to get facilities in place during the summer but were looking at improving response times.

Councillor Dagnall welcomed the approach that was being taken by the Council and the plans to provide better support to those groups. Noted that the Council’s attitude in general was very positive towards Travellers and Gypsies and asked if there were any sites in Trafford already. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services responded that there was a permanent site in Trafford where as those who came through in the summer had been groups who were in transit and only stayed for a short period of time.

Councillor Carter asked whether Trafford welcomed gypsies and Travellers. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services responded that it was a political question as to the Council’s attitude towards the communities but the Council had an obligation to provide provision for sites once they were established. Councillor Carter then asked what the needs were. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services responded that the needs had not yet been identified but it was part of the local plan work to do so.

Councillor Carter asked about how the Council was able to get environmental health and enforcement offices to the site in timely manner but not facilities. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services responded that the officers were internal resources whereas the sanitary facilities were an external resource which the Council had to secure.

Councillor Carter asked if that would be in place for the following summer. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services responded that it would be if it were made a priority.

Councillor Axford asked whether there was a need for Trafford to have transient sites as it seemed like a good solution. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services responded that if it was based on historic levels then it may not be required but if what was seen over the summer was the new normal then sites would be required.

Councillor Thompson asked whether any grants were available. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services responded that there had been some funding from Homes England but none was available at the moment.

Councillor Dagnall informed the committee that Leeds Council had a policy of negotiated stopping in place that may be of interest to the Council. Councillor Dagnall then asked whether the Council communicated with those groups. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services noted that there were a number of authorities which had regular visits with support in place. The difficulty in Trafford was identifying the needs of groups who the Council had limited amount of involvement with as this had been the first year they had come to the borough.

Councillor Dagnall asked whether the Council could do anything to prevent the media from producing negative pieces about the visits. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services responded that the Council and police had powers to combat racism or hate speech against groups but there was very little that could be done regarding the press. The Executive Member for Environmental and Regulatory Services added that the Council had been asked for comment by papers and in such situations they gave positive comments. However, the Council did not provide comments to the press if not approached as to not exacerbate the issue or cause more coverage.

The Executive Member for Environmental and Regulatory Services informed the Committee that the Council were looking at measures to make some sites less attractive so that other sites were used, but those measures would also reduce residents’ access to green spaces.

The Chair noted the discussions and supported the suggestion to communicate with Gypsies and Travellers. The Chair added that while the regular volume of visits in Trafford may not have been enough to set up sites it was worth raising at a Greater Manchester level to have a number of sites set up across conurbation for Gypsies and Travellers.

Resolved:

1)    That the presentation be noted.