Wiltshire's Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan moves to the next stage - with public consultation to begin in August

The Regulation 19 public consultation begins on Tuesday 20 August until 5pm on Friday 4 October. To enable people to find out more about the Development Plan Document and ask questions, the council is holding five engagement events at different locations around the county and one online engagement event.

Wiltshire Council, like all Local Planning Authorities, must plan for all members of the community, including Gypsies and Travellers. It must make provision to meet the accommodation needs of travellers, which includes Gypsies, Travellers and travelling showpeople, including the allocation of sites in development plans to meet this need.

The Development Plan Document, which is based on robust evidence, sets out how it will provide pitches for Gypsies and Travellers over the plan period, from 2024-2038.

Cllr Nick Botterill, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, said: Wiltshire Council is meeting its statutory obligations in planning for all members of the community, and that includes the Gypsy and Traveller communities.

Wherever possible, the provision of additional pitches is on existing Gypsy and Traveller sites. Elsewhere, seven potential new sites have been proposed, five of which are on Wiltshire Council land.

All of the allocations have been selected taking account of the availability of sites as well their proximity to local facilities. This information can be read on our website. I would strongly urge anyone interested to attend the engagement events and have their say once the consultation starts in August.

Once adopted, the Plan will sit alongside the Wiltshire Local Plan review. Together they will form the Local Plan for Wiltshire and complete the update of the Wiltshire Core Strategy. If found sound by the Inspector, the Plan would be adopted later in 2025.

The list of engagement events is as follows. People can just turn up at the in-person events - there is no need to book. However, anyone who wishes to attend the online event must sign up beforehand. Anyone with an interest in the Plan can attend any of the in-person events - they do not need to choose the one nearest to them.

To find out more and to sign up for the online engagement event, people should go to www.wiltshire.gov.uk/planning-gypsy-travellers