Birmingham City Council has said it wants to ‘reset’ its relationship with those in the travelling community as encampments take their toll on the city.
Caravans have been seen parked at a number of parks and recreation grounds in recent weeks, including in Bartley Green, Yardley, Billesley and Kings Heath.
The council has obligations to provide appropriate transit sites it can direct encampments to when they happen in the city.
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They typically provide hard standing for holding caravans, a secure boundary and basic sanitary provision, while some also provide electricity.
But one of the council’s two transit sites has suffered from repeated damage and vandalism while another has been home to “long-term occupants”.
In a report, the council said the issues at both sites had created “pressures elsewhere” in the city where unauthorised encampments occupied public spaces.
It said they often resulted in damage caused to gain access and repair and clean-up costs when a site was cleared.
“In the absence of operational transit sites, attempts to remove unauthorised encampments are delayed, resulting in further inconvenience to citizens in the affected areas,” the report said.
Birmingham City Council House -Credit:Copyright Unknown
It said the lack of transit sites and meaningful engagement with the travelling community had led to “negative perceptions of the city’s attitudes towards travellers”.
On how it will reset the relationship and meet its obligations, the report confirmed a “negotiated stopping” pilot programme would be introduced, which would involve unused pieces of land being used by those in the travelling community for “short term stays”.
But a spokesperson for the authority confirmed last month the start date of the pilot had been pushed back from June.
“Council officers are working to identify potential sites to be taken forward for consultation with local ward members, communities and businesses where the sites are being proposed,” they said.
“Consultation feedback will inform the final list of sites to be taken forward for a 12-month trial period.”
They said the council was “committed” to undertaking the pilot and was continuing to identify potential sites, which will now be taken forward for consultation “later in the year”.
‘Health and well-being offer’
As it looks to meet its obligations and improve the situation in Birmingham, the council said it wanted to provide a “joined-up health and well-being offer” for the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller (GRT) community.
“The council will look to provide dedicated officers with an on-site presence on transit sites to build relationships with the GRT community to understand their wider needs,” the report said.
It also has plans to ‘reset’ its relationship with the community and carry out a review of the physical quality and condition of the existing transit sites, as well as repair arrangements.
A previous report said 502 unauthorised encampments were recorded in Birmingham from 2018/19 to 2022/23 – 78 per cent on publicly-owned land.
On what affected the ‘longevity’ of an encampment, the report said the council, and other public bodies, had to consider the welfare of anyone who lived in the area.
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“Secondly, the available powers are hampered by the lack of an available transit site to direct encampments to,” it went on to say.
The report said the ‘negotiated stopping’ approach was “favoured by Gypsy Traveller communities as it provides a balanced and sensitive approach” and “offers more flexibility”.
“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.
The latest update on the council’s Gypsy, Roma, and Travellers Strategy is set to be discussed at a full council meeting next Tuesday, July 8.