Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document

What is the Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document

The Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document sets out Wiltshire's planning policy for addressing the accommodation needs of gypsies, travellers, and travelling showpeople. It forms part of our Local Plan - a comprehensive document that sets out our long-term strategy for development and land use, including housing, infrastructure, and community needs.

Why we need a plan

Like all Local Planning Authorities, we have a legal responsibility to plan for the accommodation needs of gypsies and travellers, and to consider their access to health and education, just as we are for the settled community.

With an up-to-date plan in place we can ensure that the housing needs of Wiltshire's Gypsy and Traveller community are met, sites are identified in the right locations, and the risk of unauthorised encampments is reduced.

Wiltshire's draft Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document ('the Plan'), and its supporting documents, set out our strategic planning policies for meeting the accommodation needs of gypsies, travellers, and travelling showpeople^{[footnote 1]}. It aims to:

• assess permanent and temporary accommodation needs
• identify land for sites in the right locations to meet need through sustainable development
• address unauthorised sites
• reduce tensions between traveller and settled communities

The Plan is based on robust evidence, including that gathered in the Wiltshire Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA)^{[footnote 2]} that establishes the accommodation needs of Wiltshire's travelling community from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2038.

When adopted, the Plan will be the starting point for determining planning applications for traveller sites, alongside other relevant policies within the wider development plan and national policy, including Planning policy for traveller sites (gov.uk), the National Planning Policy Framework (gov.uk), Wiltshire's Local Plan and made neighbourhood plans (where they contain relevant policies).

Following the first stage of formal consultation (see Previous consultations (Regulation 18)), the Plan is now moving to a final stage of public consultation (see Regulation 19 consultation summer 2024), before being submitted for examination. 

Once finalised, the plan will replace Core Policy 47, in the Wiltshire Core Strategy ('Meeting the needs of gypsies and travellers').

Plan timeline

The Wiltshire Local Development Scheme (LDS) sets out the Development Plan Documents (DPDs) that Wiltshire Council is focusing on, and the timeline for their preparation. Once completed they, together with other adopted documents, will form the Development Plan for Wiltshire.

The anticipated timeline for the progression of the Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document, according to the Wiltshire LDS, is submission of the Plan to the Secretary of State in early 2025, with the examination process to follow.

Footnotes

1. The terms 'gypsies and travellers' and 'travelling showpeople' are as defined in Annex 1: Glossary - Planning policy for traveller sites (gov.uk).
2. Wiltshire Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) June 2024 (PDF, 1 MB)(opens new window)

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On Tuesday 4 February 2025, Wiltshire Council's Cabinet agreed to support the draft Wiltshire Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document. The agenda from this Cabinet meeting can be seen here: Agenda: Cabinet - Tuesday 4 February 2025 10am (opens new window). It will now be considered by Full Council on a date to be determined and, if approved, will be submitted to the Secretary of State for examination.

Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document Regulation 19 consultation (closed)

During the Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document consultation held from Tuesday 20 August, to Friday 4 October 2024, we received approximately 650 comments. 

All comments received as part of the Regulation 19 consultation can be seen here: Wiltshire Council Consultation Portal: Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document Pre-submission Consultation (opens new window).

Since the consultation

We received over 600 comments from the public, Wiltshire Council members, businesses, community groups, and town and parish councils, as a result of the consultation. We are now working through the submissions and expect to publish all comments in the coming months. 

The outcome of the consultation will then be reported to Cabinet and Council, after which we will submit the plan, accompanying evidence, and all comments/representations received, to the Planning Inspector for independent examination^[footnote1]. We aim to do this in early 2025.

Examination hearing session(s), requests to be heard

The independent examination hearing session(s) are are, in most cases, public meetings but anyone wishing to participate in them was asked to request this in their comments/representations at the Regulation 19 stage. The Planning Inspector decides how members of the public are heard - this may be in writing, or invitation to attend and speak at the sessions.

How we ran the summer 2024 consultation

An online consultation portal was set up, and people were also able to comment by email or post. We also ran a live webinar and drop in sessions across the county for those who wanted to find out more about the plan, or had questions.

Comments at Regulation 19 stage were focused within a specific remit - Appendix A: What you can comment on in a Regulation 19 consultation. We provided information on things to consider when making a comment: Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document Statement of Representation Procedure (PDF, 254 KB)(opens new window)

Online consultation portal

This was the recommended route for providing comments - it was the simplest method, allowing comments directly on the plan as people looked through it. We provided Appendix B: Instructions on how to use the online consultation portal.

The portal is now closed.

Email or post

For those who preferred to have their say by email or post, we provided a template for comments: Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document representation form (Word doc, 49 KB)(opens new window), and the plan and supporting documents to view. Completed forms were emailed to: strategicplanning@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window), or posted to:

Strategic Planning
Planning Directorate
Wiltshire Council
County Hall
Bythesea Road
Trowbridge
Wiltshire
BA14 8JN

We advised that all comments submitted, via the online portal or otherwise, would be made public^[footnote2]

View the plan and supporting documents

An interactive policy map of all the Plan proposals was made available on our ArcGIS mapping platform (arcgis.com) (opens new window). The software allowed people to read the Plan alongside interactive maps.

An interactive map of the proposals was also made available: Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan: document portal map (opens new window). 

Supporting documents available below:

Live webinar and drop in sessions

We held a live webinar on 3 September. Those unable to attend could watch the recording at YouTube: Wiltshire Council (opens new window).

We also held five drop-in sessions across the county. These sessions have now ended. 

Footnotes

1. Following a Regulation 19 consultation, the plan is examined by the GOV.UK: Planning Inspectorate (opens new window), they decide whether it complies with any legal requirements and whether it meets the 'tests of soundness', as defined here: GOV.UK: National Planning Policy Framework (opens new window)
2. To ensure effective and fair examination, all comments (also known as representations), and the names of those making them, will be published and taken into account by the Inspector. The council therefore cannot accept anonymous representations - you must provide us with your name and contact details. Address details will not be made publicly available. All personal data will be handled in line with the council's Privacy notice - Strategic Planning and Data Protection.

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Appendix

Appendix A: What you can comment on in a Regulation 19 consultation

Regulation 19 is part of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 (legislation.gov.uk) (opens new window). It says that, before submitting a draft Local Plan to the Government's Planning Inspectorate for independent examination, it must be published, and comments (known as 'representations') formally invited. A Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan forms part of a Local Plan, so the same applies.

The purpose of the independent examination is to consider whether the plan complies with the relevant legal requirements, including the duty to co-operate, and is sound. The focus for this consultation is, therefore, related to receiving representations on:

• legal Compliance - does the plan meet the legal requirements made under various statutes?
• soundness - has the plan been positively prepared, is it justified, effective, and consistent with national policy?
• meets the Duty to Cooperate - has the council engaged and worked effectively with neighbouring authorities and statutory bodies?

An example is provided below for people wishing to comment, who may not be familiar with the type of issues that can be raised.

Comments can be made on the plan as a whole, or parts of the plan such as on specific sites. So, for example, people wishing to comment on a particular site may consider the evidence informing the plan to understand why the site was selected and then set out their own views or judgements on the suitability of a site. They may relate to issues such as (but not limited to) highways, flooding, ecology, landscape or archaeology, or access to schools or health services; and have an impact on the justification of the policy - one of the tests of soundness.

Some site issues are less relevant to plan-making and would be assessed when a planning application is submitted following adoption of the Plan. For instance, detailed site layouts or how any new tree planting is arranged tend to be matters for the later planning application stage when people would be given a further opportunity to comment. Also, matters such as whether sites would affect the value of people's properties is not a relevant planning consideration.

For further information on things to consider when making representations please view the Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document Statement of Representation Procedure (PDF, 254 KB)(opens new window)

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Appendix B: Instructions on how to use the online consultation portal

Submitting comments (known as 'representations') via the consultation portal is done as follows:

1. go to Have your say (Consultation portal) (opens new window)
2. use the navigation pane to read through plan
3. to comment/make a representation, click on the green speech bubble at the point you wish to comment - this opens a representation form where you can add your comments
4. at the end of the representation form there is an option to upload attachment(s), should you wish to
5. when you are finished, make sure you click 'complete' and then 'submit' (you will receive an email if you have any representations you are yet to submit, to prompt you to finish them)
6. you will receive an email once your comments are submitted

See our video demonstration on how to submit comments on the Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document consultation: Local Plan consultation: how to submit a comment (opens new window). 

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Following Cabinet approval in October 2020^[footnote1] we proceeded to the Regulation 18 stage consultation^[footnote2] on the Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document. This took place from 13 January to 9 March 2021. 

This consultation was the first stage of public engagement, where we invited comments on the scope and our proposed approach to the plan. The outcomes informed the preparation of our draft plan, which was consulted on at the Regulation 19 stage from 20 August to 4 October 2024 (see: Regulation 19 consultation summer 2024).

The Regulation 18 stage consultation document, sustainability appraisal scoping report, and subsequent consultation report (which includes all responses submitted to the consultation), are linked below:

• Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document Consultation Report September 2021 (PDF, 9 MB)(opens new window)
• Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document Sustainability Appraisal (incorporating SEA) Scoping report (PDF, 1 MB)(opens new window)
• Planning for Wiltshire's Gypsy and Traveller Communities Consultation Document (PDF, 839 KB)(opens new window)
• 2020 Wiltshire Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (PDF, 2 MB)(opens new window)
• 2020 Wiltshire Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment - Appendix F (PDF, 397 KB)(opens new window)

Footnotes

1. Agenda and minutes - Cabinet meeting, 13 October 2020 - Democratic Services (cms.wiltshire.gov.uk)
2. Regulation 18 - Town and Country Planning, England, Regulations 2012 (legislation.gov.uk)

Stay informed on the progression of the Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document by joining our planning policy mailing list. Follow the link below, and tick the 'Planning policy' option from the 'topics of interest' list.

Join our mailing list

See our Privacy notice - Strategic Planning and Data Protection for information on how the Strategic Planning department treat your personal information.

Contact us for more information

If you would like any further information on the plan, Contact Strategic Planning - Wiltshire Council.

Information collected through public consultation will be processed in accordance with The Data Protection Act (gov.uk).

Comments submitted as part of a consultation will be made public, as well as the name of the person who submitted the comment. No other personal information will be published. Where comments have been submitted by post, we scan them and redact personal details before uploading them.

To enable us to remove or redact personal information, it should be clearly distinguished from comments, preferably by the use of the form provided or by use of a cover sheet. Any personal information contained within the body of a comment, including that may be inferred, may not be redacted.

Subject to the above, comments received:

• will be made available for public inspection, and cannot be treated as confidential
• will be available to view on the council's website following the close of the Regulation 19 consultation, and for the remaining duration of the Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document plan-making process
• will be used by the council to inform the Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document
• will be retained by the council until such time as the Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document is superseded by other Development Plan Document(s)
• will be stored in electronic format within the council's consultation portal and servers (hard copy letters, where received, will be stored at the council's offices or secure storage facility)
• may be forwarded to the Planning Inspectorate for consideration as part of the Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document examination
• may be summarised and presented in summary form

For more information on how the council uses your personal information, see our: Privacy notice - Public Protection. 

For more information on how the Spatial Planning department use your personal information, see our: Privacy notice - Strategic Planning and Data Protection.