Press coverage

14/07/2009 12:54 MPs want house strategy scrapped MPs from the south west of England are calling for the government to give local authorities the freedom to solve housing problems. Housing and expansion is currently overseen by the South West Regional Spatial Strategy (SWRSS). The motion tabled by Gloucestershire's MP Martin Horwood has called for the SWRSS to be scrapped following a loss of confidence in it. More evidence of one rule for gypsies and another rule for the rest. If housing is moved, then the Gypsy and Traveller control should also be moved. However, based on recent experience at Homefield, they need to be more accountable. (BBC)
14/07/2009 07:00 Government debate over gipsy sites Controversial moves to create new pitches in South Gloucestershire for gipsy families were being debated in Parliament today. Northavon MP Steve Webb was leading the 30-minute debate this afternoon (Bristol Evening Post)
13/07/2009 16:44 War veterans' clubhouse faces demolition - to make way for travellers' caravans A group of war veterans face being evicted from their clubhouse after travellers demanded it be torn down to make way for more caravans. The 40-strong group of travellers moved on to a plot of land next to the veterans' clubhouse last week following a council decision to relocate them (Mail)
03/07/2009 09:42 I grew up with gipsies... but this land theft by travellers sickens me Will someone please explain why some sections of the gipsy community are called travellers. As far as I can see - and I live on a farm in the heart of the country - the last thing they seem to do is 'travel'. (Mail)
30/06/2009 14:01 Hundreds show their anger over travellers' site plans in South Gloucestershire PROTESTERS campaigning against travellers’ sites in Rangeworthy have made their views known in a massive show of public outrage. More than 300 people attended a public meeting in the memorial hall on Sunday night and hundreds more went to a drop-in consultation event at Yate Leisure Centre yesterday. (Gazette)
29/06/2009 12:03 Residents in Rangeworthy blast council's decision to approve travellers' site proposal "ONE rule for them and another rule for us", that is the feeling of angry people living near Homefield in Rangeworthy, where planning permission for a travellers’ site has been granted. South Gloucestershire Council backed plans for five gypsy families to live on the site in Hall End Lane despite recently taking landowner Colin Morgan to the High Court to ensure the removal of one mobile home (Gazette)
28/06/2009 WHY WE ALL HAVE TO WELCOME GYPSIES MANY myths surround gypsies and travellers but one simple truth is that Government legislation aimed at maintaining their way of life is going to cost taxpayers hundreds of millions. Councils across the country are facing a huge financial burden to meet new housing laws (Express)
26/06/2009 09:19 Plymouth - Travellers site plans approved Controversial plans to build a 10-pitch travellers' site on disused council land in Plymouth have been approved. Residents claim they were not properly consulted (BBC)
25/06/2009 Anger over new travellers' site plans in South Gloucestershire PEOPLE campaigning against a travellers’ site between Wickwar and Rangeworthy have been left horrified after another 27 acres of land was earmarked for gypsies. The Hall End Action Group (HEAG) was set up to fight a planning application for five caravan pitches at Homefield but members have found themselves leading a campaign against another site for double that number, on Tanhouse Lane, just one mile away. (Gazette)
18/06/2009 13:48 Group in travellers' site fight A campaign group has been set up to fight plans for a transit travellers' site in Bournemouth. Residents near the site at Cambridge Road believe it is too near the town centre and will damage tourism. (BBC)
16/06/2009 07:00 South Gloucestershire will consider more pitches at existing gipsy sites Up to 27 more potential pitches for gipsies have been included in a major exercise to create extra accommodation for traveller families in South Gloucestershire (Bristol Evening Post)
09/06/2009 08:29 We can't repair potholes, say council, the travellers might riot The residents of Oak Road are used to a rather bumpy ride. They do, after all, live next door to Europe's biggest illegal travellers' camp. But when it comes to the potholes littering their once quiet country lane, they want to smooth things over a little (Mail)
01/06/2009 07:00 Bristol traveller site decision due Councillors will make a decision this month on whether to allow a travellers' site on land which they fought for six years to keep caravan-free. South Gloucestershire Council is considering a planning application for five pitches at (Bristol Evening Post)
30/05/2009 09:20 Monmouthshire draws up plan for gypsies and travellers Monmouthshire council is to consider introducing a procedure for managing gypsy and traveller sites in the county (Gazette)
27/05/2009 15:50 Gypsies carry on with illegal campsite GYPSIES who moved onto a field outside Cricklade defied orders to stop from council officials and carried on building a camp over the bank holiday weekend, residents claim. (Gazette)
25/05/2009 00:00 Wiltshire - Anger at unauthorised Gypsy site Wiltshire villagers are concerned that a Gypsy site is being built without planning permission BBC
25/05/2009 14:29 Travellers move onto field site Twelve traveller families have moved to a field in Gloucestershire which they own but do not have planning permission to develop BBC
25/05/2009 13:00 Another bank holiday, another traveller invasion as meadow becomes a campsite May Bank Holiday is a chance for most people to relax, but one group of travellers was hard at work turning a meadow into an encampment. Mail
18/05/2009 00:00 Travellers lose eviction battle Gypsies and travellers living on one of the UK's largest unauthorised sites, near Wickford in Essex, have lost their latest battle against eviction BBC
16/05/2009 11:37 Anger at travellers' waste bill Taxpayers are being forced to foot the bill for getting rid of tonnes of rubbish dumped by travellers illegally camped on the outskirts of Plymouth BBC
14/05/2009 07:00 Police: Secure property against travellers Police have encouraged farmers and landowners to take steps to keep travellers and gipsies from setting up illegal camps. It comes after a series of problems with groups of gipsies in the Bristol area during the past (Bristol Evening Post)
14/05/2009 00:00 Mid Wales - Gypsy caravans seized by police Six gypsy caravans and a 4x4 vehicle are seized by police and council officials after violence at a site BBC
12/05/2009 07:00 Portishead residents - 'We don't want travellers' People living in Portishead have raised concerns about the possibility of a gipsy and travellers' site being set up in the town. Local residents had their say at the first of a series of consultation meetings being organised by North (Bristol Evening Post)
12/05/2009 07:00 Bristol furniture firm in traveller row Staff at a furniture company in Severn Beach said travellers who set up an illegal camp in the car park had left piles of rubbish on the site and other land nearby. The families turned up last Thursday at the Gloster Furniture premises (Bristol Evening Post)
12/05/2009 07:00 Police need to do what they're paid for Could someone please explain why we have and indeed contribute to, through taxes, a police force and laws in this country? Because I see absolutely no evidence of just how it is any law-abiding citizens living here are afforded any kind (Bristol Evening Post)
11/05/2009 00:00 Cricket club to move travellers A Devon cricket club is planning legal action to remove a group of travellers which has set up camp on its ground BBC
07/05/2009 07:00 Gipsies move camp in Whitchurch Gipsies who set up an illegal camp in a field next to Whitchurch cemetery have moved on – about a mile down the road. More than a dozen caravans and associated vans and cars left the field off the A37 on Tuesday night. But (Bristol Evening Post)
06/05/2009 07:00 Residents call for action to remove Bristol gypsies People in Whitchurch are calling for police to take action after gypsies set up an illegal camp in a field next to a cemetery. About a dozen caravans and associated vans and cars have moved onto the field next to Whitchurch Cemetery off (Bristol Evening Post)
05/05/2009 00:00 Traveller site plan is rejected Travellers who carried out building work on a field have had their planning application refused BBC
21/04/2009 00:00 Wiltshire - Gypsies move caravans on to site In a separate case, residents living near a potential gypsy site in Wootton Bassett have handed out 300 leaflets ahead of a town council meeting on 23 April BBC
21/04/2009 House of Commons Debates : Gypsy Caravans TheyWorkForYou.com
19/04/2009 10:35 Action against travellers' move Council officials are deciding what action to take after travellers moved caravans and 100 lorry loads of hardcore on to a Leicestershire field BBC
13/04/2009 15:09 Council bans farmer from living in mobile home on her own land... despite allowing gypsy camp just miles away A council has evicted an organic farmer from a mobile home on her land - despite allowing more than 50 gypsies to set up camp on her doorstep Mail
03/04/2009 17:35 Third travellers' site scrapped A third planned temporary travellers' site in Dorset has been dropped by council chiefs. BBC
unknown 2008/2009 Mobile home plan opposed An action group has been set up to oppose plans for the use of a three-acre field for mobile homes for gipsies and travellers. Travellers moved on to the field on Stragglethorpe Lane, between Stragglethorpe and Fulbeck Low Fields, in August. On Tuesday there were ten caravans and mobile homes parked on the field Newark Advertiser
23/03/2009 23:57 Row as council plans to spend £60,000 modernising traveller site with a mobile internet cafe A council is planning to spend more than £60,000 modernising two travellers' camps, equipping them with broadband access, it has emerged. Mail
23/03/2009 09:20 Gypsy and traveller site plan is refused PLANNING bosses have refused an application for a gypsy and traveller site in Winterbourne (Gazette)
20/03/2009 00:00 Politics Show - Gypsies and Travellers London has a particular problem meeting the demand for Gypsy sites due to its shortage of open land. A Gypsy and Travellers site comprises approximately 10-15 pitches BBC
11/03/2005 00:00 UK - Gypsy campaign raises ethics issue As the Sun declares "war" on a "gipsy free-for-all". BBC
23/01/2009 12:04 More than 1,000 travellers face eviction after Appeal Court rules giant camp is illegal A thousand travellers living at two of Europe's biggest illegal camps were ordered to quit the sites by the Court of Appeal yesterday following years of legal wrangling (Mail)
10/01/2009 10:38 Now even police can't object to gipsy camp in picturesque village...because it's racist Police have been told they cannot object to a planned gipsy camp in a picturesque village - because to do so would be 'racist' Mail
06/01/2009 21:44 Council seeks new travellers' sites in North Somerset A working party has been set up to consider potential new gipsy and traveller sites in North Somerset. The district council has to provide 36 new residential pitches and 10 transit pitches by 2011. (Bristol Evening Post)
05/01/2009 08:30 Site inspection for potential gypsy site PLANNERS who will decide if a gypsy encampment can be built on a country lane between Wickwar and Rangeworthy are expected to visit the site later this month (Gazette)
04/01/2009 21:44 Somerset services will be hit by cost of gipsy legal battle Public services will have to be cut to cover the spiralling legal costs of evicting gipsies from an illegal camp in Somerset, the Western Daily Press can reveal (Bristol Evening Post)
04/01/2009 02:16 How the views of 3,100 middle England residents on gipsy camps were rejected... because they were deemed 'racist' This idyllic corner of England is where council chiefs want to put a new gipsy camp. When locals, protested, they branded them racists and threw out their complaints Mail
03/01/2009 01:12 Number of gipsy sites doubles in two years as homeowners are left powerless to object The rate at which new traveller and gipsy sites are being set up has doubled over the past two years Mail
30/12/2008 01:16 Council disregard objections of 3,000 residents to traveller site as 'they are racist' When residents were asked to provide feedback on council plans to build traveller camps on their doorstep they dutifully responded. Mail
23/12/2008 13:38 Councils take action against 93 illegal gypsy caravans around Bristol Action is being taken against 93 illegal gypsy and traveller caravans around Bristol. The illegally-parked caravans on public and private land face injunctions, enforcement notices or planning inquiries. Government ... (Bristol Evening Post)
21/12/2008 21:01 New homes for gipsies in South Somerset GIPSIES and travellers in South Somerset will see their old-style mobile homes and utility blocks swept away under a pioneering scheme that could become a national blueprint. (Western Daily Press)
10/12/2008 10:43 Fears over gypsy sites PLANS to build new gypsy and traveller camps in Pilning have been met with opposition from residents (Gazette)
29/11/2008 00:15 Using satellite spy cameras, councils target private land to build 7,500 gipsy sites Two weeks ago, a letter from the local council arrived at David and Marilyn Pepper's home in Waltham Abbey in Essex. It was no more than a few paragraphs, but by the time Mrs Pepper, 67, had put it down, her hand was shaking. 'I just felt sick,' she said... (Mail)
26/11/2008 15:30 Anger over latest twist in North Curry gipsy camp row Residents of a village that has been home to an illegal gipsy camp for four years fear the arrival of a new traveller family could further delay eviction proceedings. The 16-plot site in Oxen Lane, North Curry, near Taunton, taken over by ... (Western Daily Press)
26/11/2008 13:21 Traveller loses court fight over North Somerset gypsy land A traveller has lost his battle with North Somerset Council over its planning policy for gypsy sites. Mark Small said the council's local plan for traveller sites, adopted in 2007, failed to identify and allocate land. Mr Small... (Bristol Evening Post)
21/11/2008 10:22 Fury over £100million plan for hundreds of gipsy sites across the country Towns and villages across England are bracing themselves for 'bombshell' news on the location of hundreds of new and upgraded gipsy and traveller camps Mail
20/11/2008 13:35 Wickwar residents oppose travellers' site plan Residents have launched an action group to fight plans for a travellers' site on land which was at the centre of a bitter legal battle for six years. South Gloucestershire Council has put in a planning application for five pitches at ... (Bristol Evening Post)
18/11/2008 12:28 South Gloucestershire draws up list of potential gipsy sites THE first of a series of exhibitions on contro- versial plans to provide nearly 80 new pitches for gipsy and traveller families in South Gloucestershire has been held as part of a three-month consultation programme. South Gloucestershire ... (Bristol Evening Post)
13/11/2008 15:28 Gypsies denied planning permission Two Romany gypsies who wanted to set up home on a field within an area of outstanding natural beauty in Banwell have lost their High Court fight... (Bristol Evening Post)
09/11/2008 18:10 South Gloucestershire's gipsy site plans will go on show Controversial plans to create nearly 80 pitches for gipsy families in South Gloucestershire are to go on show. People are being urged to have their say on the plans at a series of exhibitions held as part of a 12-week consultation ... (Bristol Evening Post)
08/10/2008 08:00 IT'S OPEN SEASON FOR THE GIPSIES The Government's decision to allow a large group of gipsies permission to stay permanently on what had been an illegal site has led an MP to claim nowhere in the countryside is safe from being developed. North Wiltshire MP James Gray said ... (Bristol Evening Post)
06/10/2008 18:00 Residents asked about gyspy and traveller sites RESIDENTS in South Gloucestershire can now give their opinion on prospective gypsy and traveller sites... (Gazette)
15/09/2008 08:00 Why do gipsies get special treatment? IN reply to your article, "Gipsy family fear more race attacks" (Western Daily Press, September 10), I am afraid that if legislators pass laws that give benefit to one group of people, and seek to apply a different set of laws to others, the ... (Bristol Evening Post)
08/09/2008 09:50 Somerset gypsy family fear more race attacks Gipsy David Moss has made a passionate plea for racial tolerance after his wife and children were subjected to a frightening night attack on their caravan home, and his Mercedes car was vandalised. When Mr Moss, 44, won planning permission ... (Bristol Evening Post)
10/07/2008 11:41 Minety gypsy site refusal "not racism" THE MINETY gypsies are victims of hypocrisy by North Wiltshire District Council it was alleged at a public inquiry this week... (Gazette)
04/07/2008 13:02 Gypsy sites rejected COUNCILLORS have rubber stamped a recommendation not to pursue any of the controversial locations put forward for gypsy sites in North Wiltshire... (Gazette)
25/06/2008 14:01 No to gypsy sites NOT one of the seven North Wiltshire locations pinpointed as possible gypsy sites is to be pursued... (Gazette)
15/05/2008 08:46 Gipsy site meetings URGENT meetings have been organised by the district council to discuss proposals for gipsy sites that have caused controversy across North Wiltshire... (Gazette)
10/05/2008 10:52 Gipsy site consultations A MAJOR consultation has started in the search for possible gipsy sites in North Wiltshire ... (Gazette)
09/02/2008 12:45 Gypsy appeal planned A PUBLIC inquiry is to be held after North Wiltshire District Council refused to legalise a gypsy site at Minety... (Gazette)
08/11/2007 14:43 Almondsbury - Travellers' site plans turned down MOVES to establish a new travellers' site near Almondsbury have again been rejected on safety grounds. (Gazette)
18/05/2006 10:16 Vandals could land Wiltshire man in court A MINETY man was stunned after gypsies vandalised his property and council officers said he faced legal action as a consequence (Gazette)

Gypsy & Traveller site at Homefield, Hall End

Press coverage