These pages provide information on the review process for Gypsy and Traveller sites in Swansea.

Important: The public consultation has now ended.

Swansea Council has to provide new Gypsy and Traveller site provision in order to meet current demand in the City. This will provide a permanent place of residence for Gypsy and Traveller families who already live in Swansea. 

A Quick Overview of the assessment process has been produced and a more detailed step by step breakdown is set out below:

The Current Situation

• At present, there is only one permanent site in Swansea for Gypsy and Travellers. The site is at Pantyblawd Road, and is fully subscribed.

Review Process

• A cross-party Member Task and Finish Group was established to recommend suitable Council owned site provision.  The assessment process incorporated a strict set of criteria that was applied throughout.
    
• The initial sieve considered sites against appropriate constraints established within the Unitary Development Plan (e.g. Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Strategic Employment Sites).  This resulted in the identification of 1,006 sites. 
    
• A further sieve was then undertaken utilising a range of site specific criteria (e.g. size, access). This resulted in the identification of 19 sites. 
    
• These remaining sites were then subjected to a detailed site specific assessment which culminated with the recommendation of 5 sites being considered suitable to be assessed via the planning application process.  
    
• The approach adopted by the Task and Finish Group was subject to Independent Reviews.

West Glamorgan County Council Considerations

• West Glamorgan Documentation
    
• Two separate legal reviews have been undertaken to establish whether there was a "West Glamorgan agreement" over the location of sites in Llansamlet.

Legislation/Guidance

• Section 225 of the Housing Act 2007 states that Gypsy and Travellers should be included in the Housing Needs Assessment that Councils are required to complete. 
    
• A Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment carried out by the Council in February 2012 has shown the need for a second site. 
    
• The assessment incorporated a stringent filtering exercise based on guidance set out within Welsh Government Circular 30/2007(Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Sites) and recognised the provisions of Policy HC9 (Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Sites) of the Unitary Development Plan. 
    
• Further guidance on site specific design guidance can be viewed via: Welsh Government Good Practice Guide in Designing Gypsy Traveller Sites in Wales and general guidance via: Planning Aid/Welsh Government Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Site.

Other related documents

• Here are the minutes for previous Gypsy Traveller Liaison Forum meetings

What Happens Next?

Now the consultation has ended, a report will be produced which considers the responses received. This will be presented to Cabinet in the near future.