Councillors slam ‘glacial progress’ of plans to tackle unauthorised traveller encampments in Birmingham

The council’s proposed pilot scheme aims to relieve “pressure” caused by unauthorised encampments in parks and open land across the city.

Caravans have parked up at sites in Longbridge, Bartley Green, Yardley, Billesley and Kings Heath in recent weeks.

The city’s two permanent transit sites, where travellers can be directed to, are both unavailable – one because of repeated damage and vandalism and the other because it is home to “long-term occupants”.

The council is planning to introduce a ‘negotiated stopping’ pilot which would see unused pieces of land in the city used by travellers for “short term stays”.

But the authority has pushed the start date back from June to October.

A consultation with communities and businesses near the proposed stopping sites is due to take place in August and September, according to a council report.

During a public protection committee meeting this week, councillors vented their frustration that “little progress” had been made and said residents were being “let down”.

“There’s a certain inevitability about this,” Councillor Sam Forsyth, a member of the Harborne and Quinton Independents, said. “Every time we get a report, we are told work is being done and the transit sites are being looked at.

“It’s rather like night follows day and progress is glacial.”

The councillor, who recently quit the Labour Party, continued: “The reality seems to be we don’t have enough legal sites in this city so we are scrabbling around trying to find other pieces of land where we can put the GRT [Gypsy, Roma and Traveller] community.

“That has been a festering sore in this city for years and years – it is time now that we dealt with this problem.”

Councillor  Forsyth said unauthorised encampments were “regularly taking over” public parks in the south of the city and described the situation as “unacceptable”.

“We have a disadvantaged community on one hand not being served because the sites aren’t there and we have residents who are constantly being let down,” she said.

Green Party councillor Julien Pritchard said during Wednesday’s (July 16) meeting that describing the pace of progress as “glacial” was “actually quite generous”.

“Icebergs have been melting quicker than the council has been solving this issue,” he said. “It’s the same report every time with very little actual change or progress.

“It’s incredibly disappointing and frustrating to have the same conservation.”

‘Proving quite difficult’

A council officer said consultation on possible sites would likely take place in autumn and blamed the delay on ‘site identification and resourcing’ issues.

“We have been working very hard on identifying sites and getting a shortlist up for the potential consultation,” she said. “But due to the criteria for the sites, that is proving quite difficult.”

On the possible sites, a council report published ahead of the meeting said: “An initial shortlist has been drawn up by officers.

“It is being considered jointly by planning, housing and property colleagues before wider consultation can take place on a finalised shortlist.”

Explaining the delay, the report said the work required “more extensive engagement” as well as a communications strategy.

It said additional time was needed to ensure “thorough consultation” on the sites had been carried out and that a final list of sites was agreed.

They will then require further approval, the council said.

The council previously said the ‘negotiated stopping’ approach was “favoured by Gypsy Traveller communities as it provides a balanced and sensitive approach” and “offers more flexibility”.

It pledged to take “everyone’s views into consideration” over the pilot scheme, which is set to last for at least 12 months, and was also focusing on “community cohesion”.

“The council will need to assess the success of adopting the negotiated stopping approach before it can be embedded more broadly as a way forward,” it said.