Who are Travellers?
Gypsies and Travellers fall into four main groups – Gypsies, Irish Travellers, New Travellers and the Roma community. Some are ethnic groups, recognised by the Race Relations Act. Learn more about how these groups are defined:
Background information
There is a long history, going back hundreds of years, of Travellers living in and travelling through East Sussex. This is why provision of legal sites is so important.
Following government guidelines and our statutory duties, we recognise the special accommodation needs of Travellers. However uncomfortable the fit with modern living, travelling as a way of life could not be prohibited, even if a government was minded to attempt it.
Although most families are now settled in housing or on long-term residential caravan sites, they still travel for part of the year – for work or for family occasions. The extent to which they travel varies.
Traveller sites and unauthorised encampments
Since 1994 local authorities are no longer obliged by law to provide sites for Travellers. However, new legislation in 2004 placed a duty on district and borough councils to assess and meet the accommodation needs of Travellers. Along with more general changes in land use, and more land being earmarked for housing, there are now too few sites available.
Bridie's Tan at Southerham Transit Site, Lewes
Authorised traveller sites
Partly due to the shortage of authorised sites, some Travellers live on unauthorised developments where they own the land but do not have planning permission to live there.
Travellers need planning permission for their sites. However, it is often difficult to get permission and as a result there are too few sites for the numbers of Travellers, even though nationally the number of caravans has stayed about the same for over 10 years. This is one of the most important problems faced by Travellers.
Some Travellers therefore have no permanent site and have to move from place to place. This part of the Traveller community has the poorest health and educational outcomes of any minority group and are most often the target of local hostility and misrepresentation.
Statutory agencies across East Sussex need to balance the rights and needs of both the settled and travelling communities. A transparent, fair and proportionate approach recognises both the right of Gypsies and Travellers to a nomadic lifestyle and the rights of the settled community.
Our strategy and action plan
This document contains much detailed information about the local situation, the legal framework and the procedures that must be followed by the various authorities concerned.
East Sussex County Council