An official traveller’s site should be provided on the Fylde coast for use by transient gypsies and travellers which would help prevent them camping illegally, a new report has suggested.
The recommendation has been made by an independent report commissioned jointly by Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Councils as part of requirements to update planning policies for traveller sites.
The Fylde Coast Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showperson Accommodation Assessment 2023/24 has been prepared by Arc4, who specialise in preparing such assessments.
It says there are “well-established Gypsy and Traveller communities living across the Fylde Coast” with a total of 77 pitches across 21 sites and four Travelling Showperson’s yards with 27 plots.
Pitches are sites used by gypsies and travellers, while plots are used by show people and have space for the storage of showground equipment, such as that used in travelling circuses and fairgrounds.
But the report warns due to the amount of unauthorised traveller camps which spring up on the Fylde coast and have to be moved on by councils using legal action, the councils “should consider the options for transit provision”.
It says: “Given the level of unauthorised encampment activity, it is recommended the councils consider developing a negotiated stopping policy to support Travellers passing through the Fylde Coast area.
“It is recommended the councils should consider identifying areas of land that can be used for smaller encampments (up to five caravans), encampments of between five and up to 10 caravans and for larger encampments at least 10 caravans to accommodate Travellers passing through the Fylde Coast.”
In April 2024 Blackpool Council had to use legal powers to order around 30 travellers’ caravans to leave the site of the former Devonshire Road Hospital on the corner of Devonshire Road and Talbot Road.
Concerns were also raised in August last year when a group of travellers occupied an open recreational area on Fleetwood Road in Blackpool.
The assessment, which will be used by each council to determine planning policies around the future provision of traveller and show people’s sites, also sets out gaps in provision for permanent sites.
The key findings are:
Blackpool: – has a need for 19 additional Gypsy and Traveller pitches across its borough; Wyre: – has a need for 13 Travelling Show people plots; and Fylde has a need for 15 additional Gypsy and Traveller pitches. All requirements cover the period up to 2040, and include providing some new sites within five years.
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