Assessing gypsy and traveller housing needs

Local housing authorities are no longer required to carry out a specific separate assessment of the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers in their local area. However, we still have a general duty to use a robust evidence base to establish accommodation needs. Local authorities should still consider how to meet the needs identified in the evidence base, and plan for new Gypsy and Travellers sites where a local need is identified.

When developing strategies for preventing and reducing homelessness, the local housing authority is required to consider the needs of all groups of people in their district who are homeless or likely to become homeless, including Gypsies and Travellers. They should also consider the needs and lifestyles of applicants who are Gypsy and Travellers.

Decision-making for policy concerning Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople sits within a complex legislative and national policy framework and this study must be viewed in the context of this legislation and guidance. For example, the following key pieces of legislation and guidance are relevant when developing policies relating to Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople:

• The Housing Act, 1985
• Planning Policy for Traveller Sites (PPTS), 2024
• The Housing and Planning Act, 2016
• The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), 2024
• Planning Practice Guidance3 (PPG), 2021

The primary guidance for undertaking the assessment of housing needs for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople is set out in the PPTS (2024). It should be read in conjunction with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). In addition, the Housing and Planning Act and NPPF make provision for the assessment of need for those Gypsy, Traveller and Traveller Showpeople households living on site and yards who do not meet the PPTS planning definition - through the assessment of all households living in caravans.