Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller Strategy Consultation

Overview

Birmingham City Council are conducting a consultation on its approach to the needs of the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller community. The purpose of the consultation is to engage with the community to better understand their needs in Birmingham and to ensure the community has suitable accommodation in Birmingham. This is due to the lack of temporary transit, negotiated stopping and permanent sites across Birmingham.

We are very keen to engage with the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller community and the wider community to understand how we can build better understanding of needs of the different communities that are likely to use transit, permanent sites and negotiated stopping areas in the Borough of Birmingham; this will hopefully result in a reduction of unauthorised encampments across the city.

Our aim is to manage Unauthorised Encampments (UEs) better in the Birmingham area through potential provision of short stay “Negotiated Stopping” accommodation with settled and available Transit Sites (28 day residing areas across Birmingham) for families wishing to remain in the city for longer periods. Overall, our aim is to meet the needs of the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities residing in Birmingham or whilst travelling through the borough of Birmingham whilst also respecting their cultural needs and considering the impact on the settled communities in any given locality.

A Gypsy, and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment (GTANA) commissioned by the council and conducted over 2023 and 2024 by an external consultancy, identified the need for greater provision of permanent and temporary transit sites for Travellers across the city. This assessment also identified an ongoing future need for suitable sites to be identified for growing families and for travelling households who have expressed a desire to reside permanently in Birmingham. A copy of the needs assessment can be found here on the Council's website: Birmingham Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment | Birmingham City Council

In response, the council has revised its approach to the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller community, as set out in the attached draft cabinet report.

This report updates the Council’s approach in light of the current legislation and the community's accommodation needs in Birmingham considering data presented in the GTANA. The purpose of this report is to set out the council’s vision, objectives, the Council's approach, and next steps to ensure suitable accommodation is developed across Birmingham over a 10-year period. The cabinet report includes information about the community’s background and history, the different communities, their needs, and barriers that they are currently facing.

The draft cabinet report supports the three key priorities set out in the city councils Asset Management strategy, which is ensuring residents across Birmingham are warm, safe in sustainable accommodation.

As the largest Local Authority and Social Housing Provider in the UK, our aspiration is to ensure that all residents live in accommodation that is warm, safe, and sustainable, irrespective of whether this is “bricks and mortar” accommodation or accommodation of other types or a temporary or permanent basis.

The council aims to take a joined-up approach to the needs of the GRT community; the development of our approach was overseen by a working group consisting of professionals across Birmingham City Council and External Partners who functioned as the steering group for the project. This consultation will ask a series of questions around various themes.

The council invites you to view the draft cabinet report attached to this consultation regarding our approach to the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller community and provide your feedback. There are 2 parts to the consultation and all questions are mandatory.

Please find a copy of the draft Cabinet Report attached below the survey link.

Why your views matter

Responses to this survey will be collected and analysed to help better understand the needs of the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller community and to ensure the community has suitable accommodation in Birmingham. As such, your views matter because they will directly impact how any potential strategy is implemented, presented, and what provisions will be made available.