Agenda item

To receive the report of the Gypsy Traveller Service which provides the Inner South Community Committee with an update on the work of the service.

The report of the Gypsy Traveller Service provided the Inner South Community Committee with an update regarding the ongoing work of the service.

The Gypsy Traveller Service Manager presented the report, noting the following information:

• The service was responsible for city wide traveller encampments and also management of the two permeant caravan sites and Cottingley Springs and Kidacre Park.
• There was an average of 100 roadside encampments per year in Leeds.
• Historically encampments had occurred in the South and East area but more recently the North of Leeds had also been experiencing a number of encampments.
• Costs of the service in their response to encampments were for clean ups, porta loos, legal fees and associated fees with the eviction process.
• Negotiated stopping was sometimes agreed with groups of travellers for them to use a piece of land for a short period of time, which was usually 28 days.
• Eviction of encampments was conducted via a Section 61 order through WYP.
• Over the past 3 years, the percentage of encampments that had occurred in the Inner South area had fallen but had still been around a third of all encampments in the district occurring there.
• The encampment locations had changed over time, but Leeds Urban Bike Park and John Charles Sports Centre had been used fairly regularly.
• Liaison work was ongoing with groups that frequent in Leeds, which were on average comprised of around 10 caravans. Bigger groups of travellers occur during the summer months as they pass through.
• The negotiated stopping was more often used on void pieces of land due for resale or disposal. A list of what makes for a suitable negotiated stopping site was available at page 69 of the report pack which had been developed in collaboration with Asset Management.
• Leeds GATE was a charity that the service regularly works and engages with traveller groups and tries resolve disputes with other communities affected by encampments.

In response to questions from Members, the following points were discussed:

• The Kidacre Site was noted to be fairly small and had temporary planning permission for HS2. It was unclear whether the planning permission would be actioned, but if so, the site would have to be decamped.
• The use of bonds to encourage groups to leave the land in the same state they found it was not known to the service and it was noted transactions may be difficult.
• Leeds City Council was recognised as good for their response and engagement with traveller groups.
• More sites for negotiated stops were needed to be identified to provide sensible, better options for travellers and local communities. A conversation with Elected Members across all wards was needed.
• Evidence for fly tipping was needed for any convictions. It was also noted that other people may take the opportunity of an encampment to place blame on travellers for fly tipping. It was noted that the use of cameras to monitor fly tipping was expensive.
• The process for determining the use of a section 61 eviction was done through discussion between WYP, the Council and relevant partners with factors including, any events planned on the site, what anti-social behaviour had been reported and the immediate impact on a local community.
• WYP had a dedicated officers for dealing with encampments.
• The initial approach when an encampment occurs was to ask the group to look after the site and then ongoing monitoring. It was noted that a new protocol was being developed to determine appropriate action.
• The East Leeds Orbital Road and associated green space had become a frequent location for encampments.
• After the 28 day negotiated stopping period, a Section 21 order may be implemented to regain possession of the land back to the owner.
• The negotiated stopping process had assisted with reducing evictions and associated costs such as clean ups and legal fees.
• Collaboration with WYP, relevant organisations and travelling communities was key to resolving disputes. It was outlined that determining priorities and explaining the processes to travelling communities and the public was difficult.
• A Section 61 order was a WYP decision and was dependant on the affected site, the circumstances of encampment, the impact on local communities and infrastructure and also required involvement from the Council and the landowner.
• New Section 60 legislation had recently been adopted which assisted with creating better policy for dealing with damages.
• The designated WYP officer was noted to generally have good relationships with the travellers, had good intelligence due to experience and checked every encampment site. Number plates of caravans and vehicles were often logged as it was better to deal with known travellers and assisted with risk assessments.
• Budget constraints caused the development or conversion of new long-term sites to be difficult and slow. A request for a regular site within Middleton Park was made, with Ward Members offering to be involved in the process to identify and investigate potential sites.
• It was noted that although there was not many permanently agreed negotiated stopping sites, they had assisted with keeping costs down.
• Some of the potential sites for negotiated stopping were within planning Site Allocation Plans (SAP). It was outlined that land management plans, in collaboration with Asset Management will be needed to identify appropriate sites.
• It was suggested that permanent short stay sites may alleviate the impact of the larger groups that pass-through Leeds over the summer months.
• A meeting with relevant bodies was scheduled in September 2023 where a case was going to be made for the need for permanent temporary use sites. Members offered their support of the idea.
• Statistics showed the background of most travellers frequenting sites in Leeds were Irish and English, and also some French and Belgian groups.
• Traveller families often contact each other and swap encampment sites.

RESOLVED – That the contents of the report, along with Members comments, be noted.