Policy T10: Gypsy, Travellers & Travelling Showpeople

Comment

Representation ID: 1836

Received: 21/07/2024

Respondent: Mrs Emma Rouse

We all need somewhere to call home, so appropriate sites for Travelers etc is a good idea IF these sites are provided with the relevant amenities, water, facilities for the disposal of rubbish and sanitary waste and are inspected on a regular basis.

Comment

Representation ID: 1882

Received: 04/08/2024

Respondent: Mrs Natalie Williams

I appreciate more areas are needed for the travelling community which would hopefully stop them setting up illegally elsewhere. But sadly they are usually a law unto themselves and leave sites in a mess with no worries of being prosecuted. Do these current and proposed sites give Medway Council the power to prosecute, if necessary, via some form of registration on arrival of the site. Are they charged and do they pay for utilities that I assume are available whilst there.

Comment

Representation ID: 1910

Received: 07/08/2024

Respondent: Peter Chatwell

Cuxton caravan park's residents cause a lot of problems for Cuxton's residents. I would expect Cuxton residents to be very upset with the plan to intensify its usage. I would not support an increase in its usage.

More broadly speaking, I struggle to see how these increasing targets are in keeping with any kind of regeneration strategy for Medway. I would have expected them to be decreasing.

Comment

Representation ID: 1937

Received: 12/08/2024

Respondent: Mr Max Hotchin

I believe a good site for a traveller and gypsy site is the unused warehouse space in amberly road gillingham business park just up from the aldi and icelands site. I know this site has been disused for the last 5 years ive been living in the area and if not longer. By having this as a permenent site it would reduce the amounts of travellers who would pitch up on local fields and open spaces

Comment

Representation ID: 1968

Received: 12/08/2024

Respondent: Phillip Ivory

As long as it means they don’t park in the public owrks

Comment

Representation ID: 2030

Received: 19/08/2024

Respondent: Tonbrigde and Malling Borough Council

We note that para 6.10.7 identifies a need for 31 pitches for gypsy and travellers and three plots for Travelling Showpeople, and Policy T10 sets out the approach to meeting this need through protection of and expansion of existing sites and permitting new sites subject to meeting the criteria set out in the policy. TMBC seek clarification on whether this approach will yield sufficient pitches and plots to meet the identified need.

Comment

Representation ID: 2135

Received: 02/09/2024

Respondent: Mr David Smith

The Local Plan identifies need for 31 additional pitches in Medway for those who meet the planning definition between 2022-2041 but takes no account of the 12 families currently residing at the Bredhurst Park and Ride site and their status is uncertain and that a planning application to convert it into a Gypsy and Traveller site has been submitted. The Plan assumes that ‘need can be met through expansion of existing sites’ i.e., through Gypsy and Traveller’s self-provision (private sites0 and fails to identify any land suitable for local site provision or met the demand outlined in the GTAA.

Comment

Representation ID: 2224

Received: 03/09/2024

Respondent: Mr Robin Watkins

Don't allow temporary use of a sight you have no intention of being a permanent site (Wigmore pig farm for instance). Consider whether pitches where a vehicle can be moved - whereas a formal building cannot - are suitable.

Comment

Representation ID: 2344

Received: 04/09/2024

Respondent: Mrs Victoria Holloway

There is a poor opinion of this community due to their regular invasion of local parks such as Luton Rec for example, which is left in a very poor start and is unusable by the general public for the duration of their stay. Better management of the security of these areas needs to happen. CCTV of entrances perhaps to aid in prosecution or other security barriers. Better communication between these groups needs to be looked at.

Comment

Representation ID: 2403

Received: 04/09/2024

Respondent: Mr John Conner

Agree but it should also be stressed that they should be responsible for the maintenance of the site and should the council have to intervene then they would be responsible for the cost

Comment

Representation ID: 2475

Received: 04/09/2024

Respondent: Mr DAVID AMBROSE

I note you intend to keep Orchard Grove as a Gypsy Site. If this is so I suggest you supply them with a designated water suplly.

Comment

Representation ID: 3014

Received: 06/09/2024

Respondent: Mr robert fynn

Agree

Comment

Representation ID: 3075

Received: 06/09/2024

Respondent: Mr Anthony Rees

Find large fields for them to stay on which don't inflict on local communities

Comment

Representation ID: 3252

Received: 07/09/2024

Respondent: Miss Jackie Forrest

Should be no development on greenfield or greenbelt for anyone

Comment

Representation ID: 3508

Received: 08/09/2024

Respondent: Mrs Frances Grigg

I support this policy.

Comment

Representation ID: 3549

Received: 08/09/2024

Respondent: Mr John Williams

Must must make sure we have enough provision for the travelling communities so it
Will avoid any problems we have encountered in the past.

Comment

Representation ID: 3738

Received: 08/09/2024

Respondent: Mrs Elizabeth Turpin

I am surprised that a need has not ben identified for a public transit site in the Medway towns. There will be a continuation of unauthorised encampments if this facility is not provided for.

Comment

Representation ID: 3803

Received: 08/09/2024

Respondent: Mrs Sue Bassett

The periodic invasion of Luton Rec by gypsies needs to be stopped. Aside from the loss of the amenity for locals, the gypsies have no respect for the Rec leaving piles of rubbish and forcing the local public house to close.

Comment

Representation ID: 3844

Received: 08/09/2024

Respondent: Miss Rachael Selleck

While I agree that pitches for Gypsy, Traveller, and Travelling Showpeople households are necessary, they should be actively managed by the local council. In Allhallows, the presence of these groups has led to significant problems, including property damage and a marked increase in antisocial behaviour. Proper management and oversight are essential to mitigate these issues and ensure that such sites are both functional and respectful to the local community.

Comment

Representation ID: 3895

Received: 08/09/2024

Respondent: Mrs Maureen Wade

How often is the council checking that these communities meet the accepted definition of a traveller or Gypsy? I think that if sites are given over to accommodate traveller and Gypsy caravans for extended periods of time, e.g. for health or education, then it should be incumbent on the council to demand a contribution from these communities towards the costs of maintaining these sites and the use of other local amenities.Local residents have no issue with these communities staying but they have issue that it appears the local taxpayer is supporting them with no contribution from them.

Comment

Representation ID: 3993

Received: 08/09/2024

Respondent: Mr James Gilbourne

As sites need to be made available for Travellers, please make sure that these are located well away from residential areas in Medway, and are monitored proactively.
Any future enforcement by Medway council must be immediate and effective, for existing local people to feel safe. [REDACTED]

Comment

Representation ID: 4125

Received: 08/09/2024

Respondent: Mrs Alison Gray

Whilst I accept there is concern not to show discrimination against, and a duty to accommodate, gypsies and travellers, in the interests of parity, the fulfilment of supplying affordable homes in the community as a percentage of Medway's need should equal the fulfilment of supplying gypsy pitches as a percentage of traveller need.
The Cuxton Caravan Park, which you have put for intensification, continually suffers from furniture, rubbish and waste being dumped from the bottom of the site on to the Public Footpath, and traveller horses being released onto other people's land, requiring the police to sort the situation.