Issue - meetings

To consider a joint report by the Council’s Strategic Planning & Housing Manager and the Lead Project Manager (copy enclosed) which presents the Committee with the conclusions of the Task and Finish Group established to support the work on the new Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment.  The report also seeks the Committee to formulate recommendations to Cabinet in relation to the draft Assessment.

1pm – 2pm

The Lead Member for Planning, Public Protection, Safer Communities and Domestic Abuse alongside the Head of Planning, Public Protection and Countryside Services and Strategic Planning and Housing Manager and Councillor Barry Mellor the Chair of the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment Task and Finish Group presented the Task and Finish Group’s report on process followed for undertaking Denbighshire’s Gypsy & Traveller Accommodation Assessment (2021).  Also attached to the report (previously circulated) was the draft Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) for Denbighshire.

The Lead Member for Planning, Public Protection, Safer Communities and Domestic Abuse gave the Committee some background to the production of the report. The Housing Act (Wales) 2014 placed a legal duty on Local Authorities to assess the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers (Section 101) and subsequently meet those needs (Section 103). There was a legal requirement (Housing (Wales) Act 2014) for GTAAs to be undertaken as a minimum every 5 years and the Council was now therefore required to undertake a new Assessment. An up to date GTAA was also a requirement for the replacement Local Development Plan (LDP). The deadline for the GTAA to be submitted to Welsh Government was 24th February 2022.

A robust project management approach had been adopted with the establishment of a Member-led Project Board, with the Leader and Lead Member working with Senior Officers to direct this work ensuring Member involvement, openness and transparency.

Elected Members and the Scrutiny Committee had previously raised concerns regarding the level of consultation with Gypsy and Traveller communities and the need for early engagement with Members. Consequently, Communities Scrutiny Committee agreed at its meeting on 13th May 2021 to establish a Task and Finish Group to provide support for the development of the new GTAA.

Councillor Barry Mellor, Chair of the Task and Finish Group informed the Committee that the Task and Finish Group had met six times. Its discussions had covered all aspects of the Welsh Government methodology. They reviewed progress on the assessment, communication with all stakeholders and the findings of the draft GTAA report. Their final report was attached to the report as appendix 1.

The Work Brief and Stakeholder Communication and Engagement Plan included activities to meet the requirements of the Welsh Government’s methodology as well as additional activities that had been identified as important to the Council. These provided the framework for undertaking the GTAA. The range of additional activities included an on-line survey for members and the involvement of members in promoting the survey – ensuring greater member involvement at an early stage. The employment of a Gypsy, Roma, Traveller Liaison Officer during August also ensured that travelling families staying in the County during the Assessment period were made aware of then Assessment.

Closing Councillor Barry Mellor stated that the draft GTAA findings and recommendations had been presented to the Task and Finish Group at its meeting on 15th November.  At that meeting the Group agreed that they were satisfied that the WG methodology had been applied appropriately to the analysis of need and that the additional activities identified previously by Scrutiny had also been undertaken.  Whilst the approach taken had required some considerable commitment from Task and Finish Group members during recent months, they all felt that the approach had worked well.  As a result, the Group had requested that a similar approach be adopted in future when considering potential sites for pitches.   

The Lead Member for Planning, Public Protection, Safer Communities and Domestic Abuse thanked Councillor Mellor, and the Task and Finish Group for all the hard work which they had carried out.  He then proceeded to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9