Consultation has opened today (October 9) on council proposals to create a gypsy and traveller site in Garlinge
Thanet council is asking for feedback on proposals to consider the site for land between Shottendane Road and Caxton Road, in Garlinge.
The public consultation is open for ten weeks, from today, and will close at 5pm on Tuesday 17 December. Feedback can be submitted via an online survey on the council’s public engagement website, Your Voice Thanet, and is open to all members of the public.
People who live in close proximity to the potential site in Garlinge will be contacted directly, as will the Traveller Coalition and Gypsy Council who represent the gypsy and traveller community. This will be supported by additional communication to allow the wider Thanet population to respond, if they would like to.
The council says it has a statutory duty to make provision for any unmet need for gypsy and traveller pitches within its Local Plan.
The council’s Gypsy and Traveller Needs Assessment, published in 2019, identified the need for seven permanent pitches and five transit pitches in Thanet, a total of 12. A pitch is defined as providing sufficient spaces for two caravans, two vehicles and one utility block, supported by communal facilities. This need is driven by the current and anticipated future needs of gypsy and traveller groups already living in the district.
The site in Garlinge would need space for up to eight caravans, eight vehicles and four utility blocks. These would have mains water, electricity and drainage connections and usual household waste collection services would be provided. There could also be a shared play space, and community room if space allows.
The approximate size of the proposed site is around 0.8 hectares.
Sites considered
Thanet council says the land at Shottendane Road has been identified as potentially suitable for a gypsy and traveller site following an assessment of other potential sites in the council’s ownership against criteria in the planning policy.
In 2019, work began to find new sites for the gypsy and traveller community. Cabinet considered three possible options for a temporary site at Potten Street, St Nicholas at Wade, Tivoli Brooks, Margate and Ramsgate Port.
A temporary site was set up at the Port of Ramsgate in June 2021 following an unsuccessful court application for removal of an ‘unauthorised encampment’ at Palm Bay.
The port is now the site of other development, following the award of levelling-up funding in 2021.
In July 2020, the council published a report including an assessment of the suitability of 14 sites – 12 in the council’s ownership. The details of this work are available here. The site with the lowest score in this assessment was considered to be the most suitable.
The assessments included the proposed site in Garlinge as well as a number of council owned car parks, the old Hover Port in Pegwell Bay and the land at the Port of Ramsgate. At that time the site at Shottendane Road was recommended as the most suitable.
A decision wasn’t made at this time and following the publication of a subsequent report in September 2020, it was decided that identifying appropriate sites for gypsy and traveller accommodation should be part of the new review of the Local Plan.
As part of the preparations for the review of the Local Plan, the council conducted a call for sites in July 2020, and specifically invited land owners, agents and others to submit proposals for sites for gypsy and traveller pitches. No submissions were received for this use.
Between 2021 and 2022 further work was completed to assess potential options in the council’s ownership. This included three sites; Hartsdown Road, Margate, The Leys, Manston and Highfield Road, Ramsgate. Site visits were held in May 2022, following which two of these were discounted; The Leys in Manston, because of significant access difficulties and Hartsdown Road, Margate due to the number of trees on the land and the potential impact on biodiversity.
The site at Highfield Road, Ramsgate was discounted as it was considered to be more suitable for affordable housing development. This decision was made at Cabinet in March 2023.
Thanet council says that following this work, the site at Shottendane Road is considered to be the most suitable and is currently owned by the council. If the council does decide to progress plans for a site at Shottendane Road, there is still a need to identify other locations for the future.
How to respond to the consultation
Anyone wishing to respond to the consultation is requested to complete an online survey on Your Voice Thanet, the council’s online engagement platform. A simple registration process is required.
If there are circumstances preventing someone from completing the online survey, alternative formats, such as a paper copy or large print, can be provided upon request. They can contact Customer Services on 01843 577000 from Monday to Friday, 8.45am to 5pm, to submit a request. Please note that the Customer Services team is unable to give advice or discuss the contents of the consultation over the phone.
The full Consultation Document can be viewed on the council’s website.
What happens next
The feedback from this phase of public consultation will be presented to councillors for consideration prior to the submission of any planning application.
A report summarising the responses will be presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Panel and to Cabinet. This report is anticipated to be published in the Spring 2025.
If a decision is made to submit a planning application, this would be subject to further statutory consultation.
