Policy information sourced from The Woking Local Development Document - Core Strategy

CS14: Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople

The Council will make provision for necessary additional pitches for Gypsies and Travellers and Travelling Showpeople in the Borough between 2017 and 2027 over the plan period.

Sites to meet the need will be identified in the Site Allocations DPD. A sequential approach will be taken in identifying suitable sites for allocation, with sites in the urban area being considered before those in the Green Belt. Where no sites are available in the urban area, priority will be given to sites on the edge of the urban area that benefit from good access to jobs, shops and other infrastructure and services. A demonstrated lack of any deliverable sites in the urban area would provide very special circumstances necessary to allocate sites in the Green Belt. Any site to be released from the Green Belt will be informed by the Green Belt boundary review to be carried out in 2016. Any proposal that will have an adverse impact on environmentally sensitive sites that cannot be adequately mitigated will be refused. A Habitats Regulations Assessment will be carried out of any site that is allocated in the Green Belt to determine whether there is a need for an Appropriate Assessment. Any site considered for allocation must be deliverable (including affordable to its intended occupiers) so as to ensure that needs are met.

The following criteria will be taken into consideration when determining the allocation of land for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople and any planning applications for non allocated sites.

  • The site should have safe vehicular access from the highway and have adequate parking provision and turning areas.
  • The site should have adequate amenity for its intended occupiers, including space for related business activities.
  • The site should not have unacceptable adverse impacts on the visual amenity and character of the area.
  • The site should have adequate infrastructure and on-site utilities to service the number of pitches proposed.
  • The site should have safe and reasonable access to schools and other local facilities.

Existing authorised sites for Gypsies and Travellers will be safeguarded from development that would preclude the continued occupation by these groups, unless the site is no longer required to meet identified need.

*Note that there is an existing unimplemented permission for 3 pitches. The Council is confident that this permission will be implemented before 2016. The Council will monitor progress on implementation. The need up to 2016 would have been met when this extant planning permission is implemented.

For more information please see the Core Strategy