A survey is underway to help assess future needs of gypsies and travellers living in Wrexham or visiting the county borough.
Like every other housing authority in Wales, Wrexham Council has a legal obligation to carry out the assessment every five years.
The aim is to work out the number of caravan pitches and accommodation likely to be needed.
The assessment was originally due to take place last year, but was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The work won’t look at the location of any extra pitches needed – any potential sites would be explored as part of the Local Development Plan (LDP), which is a separate process.
Legal and moral duty
The council will be out and about talking with local gypsy and traveller communities in the coming weeks and months to help understand their likely travel patterns and living arrangements over the next few years.
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Once completed, the findings will be submitted to Welsh Government for approval. The council will then have a legal duty to meet the needs identified.
Councillor David Griffiths, Wrexham Council’s Lead Member for Housing, says: “We have a legal duty to assess traveller accommodation needs every five years, and we also have a moral duty as a compassionate local council and housing provider.
“It’s important to understand that this exercise is about numbers and raw data only – it’s about how many pitches and how much accommodation we might need. It’s not about where those pitches might be located.
“In the interests of transparency, it’s important to let people now that we’re undertaking this work, and to make sure people understand why.”
If you know any travellers or gypsies who would like to be interviewed as part of the consultation, call 07474 267095 or 01792 535300, or email michael.bayliss@ors.org.uk
