The Gypsy/Travellers site North Tyneside Council wants to create will comprise 9 pitches (this is 18
caravans and 18 towing vehicles, so a large plot of land is needed). This site fits the bill and
is one of the few sites within the "search area" Part of the site was used as a temporary
car park during the construction of the Northumberland park multi-story car park. It has access to
local schools, shop and health centers.
The old road has been used in the past for an unauthorized travellers sites, North Tyneside Council rejected
the core strategy option to "search" the entire North Tyneside area in favour of only searching the
"preferred area" because travellers have already had illegal/unauthorised camps in the past and the
search area is located close to trunk roads (good for traveller's because they are mobile).
This site has easy access
to the A19 trunk road and is not designated by North Tyneside Council for residential development
nor as open land. The site has natural borders of the A19, metro line and A186 which help prevent
the site over spilling. The site is conveniently located for schools, shops and public transport.
The site will easily accommodate 9 pitches (18 caravans, 18 cars, private amenity buildings) and
a communal children's play areas, in addition, the site allows for easy future expansion. All of these
factors along with the site being within the "preferred corridor" of the A19 will influence North
Tyneside Council if it comes to granting planning permission. This site is one of the few sites
in the "search area" that ticks all the boxes from the ODPM Circular 01/2006
North Tyneside say this land is in private ownership and no planning applications have yet been made
for accommodating a site here. The £489,000 extension of the Honeypot Lane travellers site in Darlington
by 12 pitches was also in part onto previously private land (now leased) and land designated
"Open Land".
The approx £500,000.00 cost for the travellers site comes from central government funds. The requirement
for a Gypsy/Traveller's site comes from the 2009 GTAA (Gypsy and Travellers Accommodation Assessment) which
estimates 9 pitches are required (rounded to to the nearest whole pitch) for North Tyneside. The GTAA
published in 2009 was significantly higher then the previous regional GTAA which estimated both North and South Tyneside
would need two pitches between them. However, the 2009 local GTAA is considered more accurate because it
includes travellers with transit accommodation needs who are living within bricks and mortar properties.
View GTAA report here or here
