Issue - meetings

RESOLVED – that (A) the East Herts Gypsies and Travellers and Travelling Showpeople Accommodation Needs Assessment, April 2014, be agreed as part of the evidence base to inform and support the East Herts District Plan; and

(B)   the East Herts Gypsies and Travellers and Travelling Showpeople Accommodation Needs Assessment, April 2014, be agreed to inform Development Management decisions.

(see also Minute 266).

Minute 1 refers

Note – The consultants will be in attendance for this item, which will include a presentation.

The Panel considered a report presenting the findings of the East Herts Gypsies and Travellers and Travelling Showpeople Accommodation Needs Assessment, April 2014, which made recommendations on the amount of provision necessary for both Gypsies and Travellers and Travelling Showpeople for the period to 2031.

Nigel Moore, Opinion Research Services, gave a presentation on the main findings and responded to various Members’ questions.  He clarified that the assessment was about identifying needs and not specific sites and whether these needs could be met within the provisions of the emerging District Plan.  The next stage would be to undertake the site scoping work that would determine which locations could be selected to meet the identified need.  This would be subject to a further report to Members in due course.

Members were advised that this study was confined to identifying needs arising in East Herts only and that issues relating to adjacent sites in neighbouring areas would emerge through both the emerging Identification of Potential Sites Study and through Duty to Co-operate arrangements agreed between Authorities in due course.  In respect of stakeholders’ comments on site location within the Accommodation Needs Assessment, it was emphasised that these were personal opinions of respondents and did not represent a policy position.

At this point (8.35 pm), the meeting was adjourned for 5 minutes to enable the technical faults in the microphone system to be addressed.  At 8.40 pm, the meeting resumed and the Chairman advised that the webcast had been abandoned as the technical problems could not be resolved.

The Panel supported the recommendations as now detailed.

RECOMMENDED – that (A) the East Herts Gypsies and Travellers and Travelling Showpeople Accommodation Needs Assessment, April 2014, be agreed as part of the evidence base to inform and support the East Herts District Plan; and

(B)      the East Herts Gypsies and Travellers and Travelling Showpeople Accommodation Needs Assessment, April 2014, be agreed to inform Development Management decisions.