Agenda item

To consider a report (which contains a confidential appendix) by Councillor Mark Young, Lead Member for Planning, Public Protection, Safer Communities and Domestic Abuse (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet approval of the draft Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment 2021 for submission to Welsh Government.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       confirms support for the approach adopted for the delivery of Denbighshire’s Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment as being robust and in line with Welsh Government guidance;

(b)       approves the draft Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment 2021 for submission to Welsh Government;

(c)        delegates authority for the Lead Member for Planning, Public Protection, Safer Communities and Domestic Abuse to agree any minor editorial changes required to the draft Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment, prior to submission to Welsh Government, and

(d)       confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment (Appendix 3 to the report) as part of its consideration.

Councillor Mark Young presented the report outlining the approach taken to, and findings and recommendations of, Denbighshire’s draft Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment 2021 (GTAA) and sought Cabinet approval to submit the draft GTAA to Welsh Government.

There was a statutory requirement to undertake and submit an assessment of accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers to Welsh Government every five years and to subsequently meet those needs.  The GTAA was also a requirement for the replacement Local Development Plan.  Details of the assessment process and its management had been provided which involved the establishment of a Project Board together with a Scrutiny Task and Finish Group to support that work.  The assessment had been completed and the process reviewed by the Scrutiny Task and Finish Group and Communities Scrutiny Committee.  Councillors Barry Mellor and Graham Timms had been invited to report on the work of the Scrutiny Task and Finish Group and Communities Scrutiny Committee respectively.

Councillor Barry Mellor, Chair of the Task and Finish Group detailed the Group’s involvement at various stages in the assessment process and reports back to the Scrutiny Committee on their findings.  The Group had been satisfied that the assessment had been carried out in line with Welsh Government methodology and followed the agreed Work Brief and Stakeholder Communication and Engagement Plan, and recommended that the draft GTAA be approved for submission to Welsh Government.  Councillor Graham Timms, Vice-Chair of Communities Scrutiny Committee thanked the Task and Finish Group for their diligent work and agreed that the arrangements and process adopted for delivering the assessment had worked well and should be considered for use in future when selecting potential sites for pitches.  He reported upon the Committee’s discussions and endorsement of the assessment process and recommendation that Cabinet approve the draft GTAA for submission to Welsh Government.

Councillor Mark Young reported upon the conclusions of the draft GTAA that –

·         there was a need for 8 residential pitches to meet the identified needs of 3 households/extended family groups in the county, and

·         there was no evidence of need for a permanent transit site due to the low numbers of unauthorised encampments, short term nature of encampments and lack of demand for such facilities locally.  It was recommended that a management based approach be applied to unauthorised encampments based on best practice from across the UK, balancing the needs of both travelling communities and local communities.  Elected members and the travelling community could be engaged in developing that approach in Denbighshire to reflect local requirements.

The Leader thanked Councillors Mark Young, Barry Mellor and Graham Timms for the comprehensive update and acknowledged the hard work of all those involved.  He commended the approach taken which enabled early engagement with members in the process and delivery of the assessment.  The work of the Task and Finish Group and Communities Scrutiny Committee had been clearly set out and the recommendations of the Scrutiny Committee had been reflected in the report.  It was hoped the work of the Task and Finish Group could continue in the next stage of the process when selecting potential sites for pitches.  In response to a question from Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts regarding the different outcome of the latest assessment with no identified need for a permanent transit site, it was confirmed that the conclusion reached by the Independent Consultants, having conducted the assessment in accordance with Welsh Government methodology, was that a permanent site was not required.  An assessment was required to be undertaken every five years and circumstances would likely change during that time.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       confirms support for the approach adopted for the delivery of Denbighshire’s Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment as being robust and in line with Welsh Government guidance;

(b)       approves the draft Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment 2021 for submission to Welsh Government;

(c)        delegates authority for the Lead Member for Planning, Public Protection, Safer Communities and Domestic Abuse to agree any minor editorial changes required to the draft Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment, prior to submission to Welsh Government, and

(d)       confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment (Appendix 3 to the report) as part of its consideration.