Appendix 1

 

SECRETARY OF STATE'S PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE DRAFT POLICY ON

GYPSY AND TRAVELLER ACCOMMODATION IN THE EAST OF ENGLAND

 

SUBMISSION REGARDING EPPING FOREST DISTRICT

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

On 27 March the Secretary of State issued her decisions on the recommendations of the Examination in Public (EiP) Panel and her proposed changes to the draft policy on Gypsy and Traveller accommodation in the East of England. This had been prepared by the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) as a single issue review of the Regional Spatial Strategy.  Her proposals are the subject of an eight weeks public consultation, the closing date for which is 22 May 2009. This is a submission in response to those proposals insofar as they affect Epping Forest District.

 

The Secretary of State is proposing that Epping Forest be required to provide 34 additional pitches by 2011. For the period 2011-21 she is proposing that the total number of pitches in the District would be required to increase at a compound growth rate of 3% p.a.

 

The original EERA proposal had been that the Epping Forest would be required to provide 49 additional pitches by 2011. The EiP Panel had recommended this be reduced to 39 because of the constraints on delivery in the District and the Secretary of State is proposing a further reduction to 34 for the same reasons.

 

It is understood that Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) intends to submit a response to the Secretary of State, the conclusion of which is understood to be that: ‘EFDC welcomes the reduction in pitches within the District to 34, from the original 49, but still considers this to be too high and will press for further reductions; a provision of no more than 20 pitches within the District would be considered by the Council to be more reasonable.'

 

This document has been prepared by a small team of Epping Forest residents, advised as necessary by technical experts. We believe that the EFDC response would be complemented and strengthened by the additional material it contains. This submission is supported by a number of Action Groups and other organisations and elected representatives concerned about the impact of the Secretary of State's proposals on the District.

 

SUMMARY

 

The Secretary of State's proposals would mean that Epping Forest would be required to provide 34 additional pitches by 2011. This compares to the 49 originally proposed in the EERA draft policy and the 39 recommended by the EiP Panel and is therefore to be welcomed.

 

However we believe that this proposal:

•·       still does not fully recognise the extent of the delivery challenge in the District

• treats the District unfairly in comparison to the rest of Essex
• is based on an over-estimation of the requirement for accommodation in the District

 

We believe that each of these arguments stands independently of each other and that each argument on its own would justify a reduction in the requirement for additional pitches by 2011 to no more than 20.

 

The Secretary of State also proposes a 3% p.a. compound growth rate in the total of pitches over the period 2011-21. This would mean the District would be required to provide a further 44 additional pitches over this period, 78 in all over the period 2006-21.

 

The most recent caravan count data indicates that actual growth in accommodation requirement in Epping Forest has been a little less than 1% p.a. for the past 3 years. We believe that the 3% p.a. compound growth rate proposed for the District for the period2011-21 is not consistent with the data now available and would result in a significant over-provision of accommodation.  If a 1% p.a. growth rate were used the District would be required to provide a further 12 additional pitches over this period, 46 in all over the period 2006-21.

 

We understand the latest Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) for Essex estimates the accommodation requirement in Epping Forest to be 30 additional pitches by 2013. Adjusting for the differences in time period and for the constraints on site delivery in the District to the same degree as already used by the Secretary of State, we calculate the delivery requirement as 19 additional pitches by 2011. A 1% compound growth rate means that there would be a delivery requirement for a further 12 additional pitches by 2021, 31 in all over the period 2006-21.

 

This is our preferred option. We believe it adequately reflects

• the pattern of growth actually seen in the Gypsy and Traveller community in Epping Forest over the last few years
• the latest data on accommodation requirements in the District
• the extent of the delivery challenge faced by the District
• our concerns about the fairness of pitch distribution across Essex.

 

We understand that the latest GTAA for Essex has not yet been published. If the Secretary of State is minded to set aside evidence submitted on the basis of an unpublished GTAA study, then we believe a calculation of pitch requirements based on the Fordham formula should be used. This indicates an accommodation requirement of 34 additional pitches by 2014. After adjusting for the differences in time period and the constraints on site delivery in the District, we calculate the delivery requirement as 21 additional pitches by 2011. A 1% compound growth rate gives a requirement for the delivery of a further 11 additional pitches by 2021, 32 in all over the period 2006-21.

 

The table below summarises our case.

 

 

 

Note: The EFDC Consultation was based on the EERA Draft Policy. The Consultation document refers to a total requirement for 123 additional pitches up to 2023. However this includes a contingency of 16 pitches. By removing the contingency and adjusting for the 2 extra years of growth the 123 reconciles approximately to the 98 additional pitches shown above.

               

 

REQUIREMENTS UP TO 2011

 

For purposes of clarity we consider first the period up to 2011 and then the period 2011-21.

 

The extent of the delivery challenge for Epping Forest is still not fully recognised

 

The reasons given by the EiP Panel for the reduction from 49 to 39 in the requirement to provide additional pitches by 2011 were all concerned with the particular constraints on supplying the necessary sites in Epping Forest. Specifically the reasons given (in paragraph 4.21 of the EiP Panel's report) were:

• ‘the net area of land unconstrained by environmental constraints is fairly low'
• ‘the opportunity to provide appropriate new sites is made more difficult by the high concentration of existing pitches in parts of the district'
• ‘it was very unlikely that a site within the built-up area would be suitable because of amenity considerations or affordable because of competing urban land uses'
• ‘the number of additional pitches sought as a proportion of total new dwellings is much higher than for any other district in the region'

 

The Secretary of State's proposal to further reduce the 39 to 34 also gave these as the reasons. Even with this further reduction the difficulty in finding suitable sites is still considerable and we believe not fully recognised in her proposals. A numerical analysis of two of these reasons demonstrates this.

 

 

 

Note; Source of data on Dwellings to be built 2006-11: EiP Core Document 4.27C

 

To meet even the reduced requirement by 2011 Epping Forest will have to find almost 45 additional pitches per 1000 new dwellings. This is the highest ratio in the entire Region. Fenland, Maldon and Mid Suffolk also rank highly but have comparatively large areas of land unconstrained by environmental constraints in which to locate such sites. The closest equivalent to Epping Forest would be Basildon which ranks fifth with a requirement for just under 20 additional pitches per 1000 new dwellings.

 

• Note a) Unconstrained land is all land not constrained by at least one of the following environmental designations: Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Green Belt, National Parks, Ramsar sites - Wetlands of International Importance, National Nature Reserves, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Ancient Woodlands, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

Note b) Source for data on unconstrained land: EiP Core Document 4.27A

 

Epping Forest also has a comparatively small area of unconstrained land. The additional pitches required in the District represent almost 14 pitches per sq km of unconstrained land. This again is the highest pitch density in the Region. The next highest are South Bedfordshire and Basildon, both with a requirement of about 10 pitches per sq. km of unconstrained land.

 

These two constraints (small numbers of new dwellings planned and small area of unconstrained land) were identified by the EiP Panel but we believe their effect was not fully recognised. For example the Panel's Report states "The net area of unconstrained land is fairly low" (para 4.21) without noting that in comparison to the number of pitches required, Epping Forest has the highest pitch density in the Region.

 

The way in which these two constraints interact together is shown in the scatter diagram overleaf. Each blue diamond represents the Secretary of State's proposal for one of the Region's Areas. Those Areas with particularly high pitch densities are labelled. The line slanting down and to the left represents Epping Forest. The red square on that line labelled "39 pitches" represents the EiP Panel's original recommendation. As can be seen, it is an extreme outlier compared to all the other Areas in the Region. So is the blue diamond labelled "34 pitches" which represents the Secretary of State's proposal.

 

As the Epping Forest line descends it can be seen that around "25 pitches" its pitch density in relation to unconstrained land falls below South Bedfordshire but hugely exceeds it in relation to new dwellings. At "25 pitches" Epping Forest's pitch density in relation to new dwellings falls below that of Fenland. However Fenland  (along with Maldon and Mid Suffolk) has a huge area of unconstrained land and therefore is not comparable with Epping Forest. At around "20 pitches" Epping Forest's pitch density in relation to unconstrained land has fallen below Basildon and St Albans but still comfortably exceeds them both in relation to new dwellings.

 

 

 

It is only at around "15 pitches" can it be seen that Epping Forest has a pitch density in relation to both new dwellings and unconstrained land which is similar to other Areas in the Region (such as Basildon, St Albans and Brentwood).

 

The proposals for Epping Forest are unfair in relation to the rest of Essex

 

The "fairness" of the Secretary of State's proposals as regards Epping Forest can be judged by comparing them with the other 11 District Councils and 2 Unitary Authorities (14 Areas in all) that make up "Essex". To do this there are a number of measures and ratios which we have used to compare one Area with another in an attempt to gain some sense of the fairness of the proposals.

 

Total number of pitches

 

Basildon currently has the highest total of authorised pitches in Essex. By 2011 the Secretary of State's proposals mean it would have 174 pitches and still rank first. Epping Forest would rank second with 128.

 

 

 

Note: For purposes of clarity the data on numbers of existing authorised pitches has been taken from the EiP Panel report. The baseline for this data was 2006. Obviously there have been changes since. For example 88 existing authorised and tolerated pitches are listed in the EFDC Consultation document which was issued at the end of 2008. 

 

The existing high concentration of pitches in Basildon was recognised in the original EERA proposals for pitch distribution across the Region. In order to achieve a wider Regional distribution the pitch requirements for Basildon were halved (along with those for South Cambridgeshire and Fenland - the top three in the Region). Epping Forest which ranked fifth in the Region (1 pitch behind Peterborough), missed out on this re-distribution. Had Epping Forest been included then the original EERA proposal on pitch requirements would have reduced from 49 to 25.

 

Total pitches compared to population

 

The total of authorised pitches compared to population is perhaps the fairest and most easily understandable measure of pitch concentration. It reflects the burden carried by society and disregards the physical characteristics of the Area.

 

 

 

Note: Population data sourced from ONS 2001 Census data

 

On this measure the Secretary of State's proposals mean that by 2011 Epping Forest would have 1.06 pitches per 1000 population. It would rank first in Essex just ahead of Basildon.

 

Total pitches compared to unconstrained land

 

A measure of the pressure on available land is the total number of pitches compared to the area of unconstrained land. On this measure the Secretary of State's proposals would mean that by 2011 Epping Forest will have just over 51 pitches per sq. km of unconstrained land. This would rank it comfortably first in Essex ahead of Basildon which would have just over 26 pitches per sq. km of unconstrained land. Indeed Epping would easily rank first in the Region on this measure (as noted earlier).

 

 

Additional pitches compared to planned new dwellings

 

Additional pitches compared to planned new dwellings is a reflection of the priority that has been attached to the provision of accommodation for the travelling community in relation to the needs of the settled community.

 

 

 

On this measure the Secretary of State's proposals mean that over the period up to 2011 Epping Forest would be providing just over 44 additional pitches for Gypsies and Travellers for every 1000 new dwellings that are planned. This again would rank it comfortably first in Essex ahead of Maldon with just over 27 pitches per 1000 new dwellings and again first in the Region.

 

Total pitches compared to suitable local employment

 

There is considerable evidence that a major factor in determining Gypsies' and Travellers' preferred location for sites is proximity to suitable employment. There are no direct measures of the number of suitable jobs locally but a reasonable proxy is the number of jobs locally in agriculture and construction. These are sectors that have traditionally employed Gypsies and Travellers and for which good census data does exist. Each of the Areas in Essex can thus be ranked according to the total number of pitches compared to the numbers of jobs in agriculture and construction.

 

 

 

Note: Employment data sourced from ONS Industry of Employment dataset UV34, 2001.

 

The Secretary of State's proposals mean that Basildon would rank first on this measure with 21.7 pitches per 1000 jobs in agriculture and construction. Epping Forest would rank second with 21.2.

 

We believe this measure indicates that the Secretary of State's proposals represent a considerable over-provision of pitches in Basildon and Epping Forest in relation to the distribution of suitable jobs across Essex as a whole.

 

A fairer pitch distribution in Essex

 

The rankings of each of the Areas in Essex according to the 5 "fairness" measures discussed above are summarised in the table below.

 

 

 

Note: The column headed "score" counts 1 on each occasion when an Area is ranked first, 2 when an Area is ranked second and so on. "Aggregate ranking" is the Areas ranked according to score - the smaller the score the higher the ranking. The smallest possible score for an Area would be 5 (5x1) and the largest 70 (5x14).

 

The Secretary of State's proposals for Epping Forest are that 34 additional pitches be provided by 2011 which would mean there would then be a total of 128 authorised pitches in the District. This means that by 2011 Epping Forest would rank first on 3 of the measures and would rank second to Basildon on the remaining 2 measures. Epping Forest would rank first in the aggregate ranking and Basildon narrowly second. The remaining Areas are a long way behind.

 

We have reworked the rankings to examine how they change if the number of additional pitches that Epping Forest are required to provide by 2011 were to reduce. At 23 additional pitches (making a total of 117 pitches) the District would drop to second in aggregate ranking (behind Basildon). At 15 additional pitches (109 in total) Epping Forest would still be second with a score of 12. Basildon would be first with a score of 8 and Maldon third with 26.

 

Obviously the selection of measures and the basis for ranking we have used is to some extent arbitrary. Other measure might have been used which would have a marginal effect on the scores and the rankings. However we believe it is clear that on a broad range of measures the Secretary of State's proposals for the period up to 2011 treat Epping Forest and Basildon unfairly in comparison to the other Areas in Essex.

 

The extent of the unfairness is quite marked. There would have to be a significant reduction in the requirement for additional pitches for that to be remedied. Reducing the Epping Forest requirement to 23 pitches would be the maximum if the District were to be moved off the top spot. Even at 15 pitches the District still ranks second to Basildon, a long way ahead of the third-ranked District. However we would not seek to argue that the Epping Forest requirement should be reduced below 15 as this is the minimum level for any of the Areas in the Region.

 

Accommodation requirements in Epping Forest has been over-estimated

 

In the absence of a reliable and agreed GTAA covering the whole of Essex at the time of the EiP Panel, formula-based estimates of accommodation requirement were used. For Epping Forest the requirement was estimated at an additional 49 pitches by 2011.

 

A revised GTAA for Essex was in preparation at the time and EFDC attempted to have it introduced as evidence but this was declined. This GTAA has now been completed but not yet published. We understand it shows a revised accommodation requirement for Epping Forest of 30 additional pitches by 2013. Discounting at the 3% p.a. growth rate accepted by the EiP Panel, we calculate this equates to a requirement for 23 additional pitches by 2011.

 

The original accommodation requirement for 49 additional pitches was reduced by the Secretary of State to a delivery requirement for 34 additional pitches to reflect the comparative difficulty in delivering sites in Epping Forest (i.e. a reduction to 70%). 70% of the accommodation requirement for 23 additional pitches is equivalent to a delivery requirement for 16 additional pitches by 2011.

 

Conclusions on requirements up to 2011

 

We have examined the Secretary of State's proposal that Epping Forest be required to provide 34 additional pitches by 2011. We believe that there are three grounds on which we believe this proposal should be re-considered. We have re-calculated an alternative proposal for each of those grounds independently of the others. Each of these re-calculations gives similar results. They are summarised below.

 

 

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PERIOD 2011- 21

 

The Secretary of State's proposed changes to the draft policy for the Eastern Region say that ‘Beyond 2011 provision should be made for an annual 3% compound increase in residential pitch provision, equivalent to 1,038 additional pitches between 2011 and 2021'.

 

The 3% growth rate would result in a significant over-provision of accommodation

 

The EiP Panel accepted 3% p.a. as the compound growth rate in accommodation requirements that would apply across the Region and to each Area for the period 2011-21.

 

It is believed that the basis for the 3% annual compound growth rate was the work commissioned by CLG to develop a methodology for estimating pitch requirements at regional level. The methodology was applied to the Eastern Region in order to act as a case study. The work focused on predicting pitch requirements for 5 years ahead. As regards the approach to be used in predicting requirements for the longer term, the report on the work states:

‘The current shortage means that it is impossible to predict trends when sites are

provided and shortage is reduced. There is no means of knowing whether Gypsies

and Travellers will, for example, seek to form smaller independent households, move

from houses to sites or move/travel more if accommodation is available. There is

effectively no basis on which long-term predictions and assessments could be made.

RPBs are, however, seeking to plan in the RSS for a twenty year period and need some indications of the sorts of pitch requirement assumptions they might make. At present, the best assumption to be made for a period when the current backlog of site need has been cleared is household growth rate of 3 per cent a year compound.' (Preparing Regional Spatial Strategy Reviews on Gypsies and Travellers by Regional Planning Bodies, section 3.3, CLG, March 2007)

 

Changes in the total number of caravans (i.e. including those on unauthorised sites) is a good indication of changes in the level of accommodation requirement. Data on total numbers of caravans is available from the twice-yearly caravan counts published by CLG.

 

From the table below it appears that actual growth in accommodation requirement across Eastern Region has been consistent with the 3% p.a. compound growth predicted. However growth in Epping Forest District has been significantly lower at just less than 1% p.a.

 

 

Note a): The data for January 2006 is from EiP Core Document 4.14A.

Note b): The data from July 2006 to January 2008 is from both EiP Core Document 4.14A and from the table published by CLG (Count of Gypsy and Traveller Caravans) - both sources agree.

Note c): The data for July 2008 is from the same CLG table.

Note d): The data for January 2009 is from the EFDC return to CLG. The Eastern Region total was not yet available.

 

We believe the 3% compound growth rate proposed for Epping Forest is inappropriate given the longer period of consistent data that has become available since the EiP Panel concluded. We believe that an alternative assumption of a 1% p.a. compound growth rate for Epping Forest would be a sounder basis for prediction and would be more likely to avoid a significant over-provision of accommodation in the District.

 

A more appropriate growth rate would have a significant effect on pitch requirements

 

Pitch requirements in Epping Forest calculated using the Secretary of State's proposal for 34 additional pitches by 2011 but using 3% and 1% p.a. as alternative compound growth rates for the total of pitches require over the period 2011-21 are compared in the following table.

 

 

 

We consider that the 1% p.a. growth rate is consistent with the actual growth in accommodation requirements seen over the past 3 years and more appropriate than the 3% p.a. growth rate proposed by the Secretary of State. It would require Epping Forest to provide 34 additional pitches by 2011 and a further 12 by 2021, 46 in all.

 

The latest Essex GTAA

 

It is understood that the latest GTAA for Essex estimates the accommodation requirement in Epping Forest at 30 additional pitches by 2013.

 

The original accommodation requirement for 49 pitches was reduced to a delivery requirement for 34 additional pitches to reflect the comparative difficulty in delivering sites in Epping Forest (i.e. a reduction to 70%). Applying this adjustment to the above calculations gives a delivery requirement for 21 additional pitches by 2013.

 

The effect of this latest GTAA data on pitch requirements over the whole period is shown in the table below.

 

 

 

Using the latest Essex GTAA estimate of accommodation requirements in Epping Forest with a 1% p.a. compound growth rate would require Epping Forest to provide 19 additional pitches by 2011 and a further 12 by 2021, 31 in all.

 

This is our preferred option. We believe it adequately reflects

• the pattern of growth actually seen in the Gypsy and Traveller community in Epping Forest over the last few years
• the latest data on accommodation requirements in the District
• the extent of the delivery challenge faced by the District
• our concerns about the fairness of pitch distribution across Essex.

 

An alternative formula-based estimate of pitch requirements

 

We understand that the latest GTAA for Essex has been completed but not yet published. We are aware that the Secretary of State may be minded to set aside any evidence submitted on the basis of an unpublished GTAA study (as was done by the EiP Panel).

 

Our case does not rely entirely on evidence from the latest Essex GTAA. The arguments we have deployed concerning fairness, constraints on site delivery and growth rates still stand. Nevertheless an important strand of the case we have presented does rely on this evidence.

For this reason we have examined what the use of a formula might show.

 

The formula we have used first is that developed on behalf of CLG and is the formula used by the EERA and accepted by the EiP Panel (known as the RSS formula). This estimates additional pitch requirements for the following 5 years using data from a single count:

 

R = UDP + 0.4AP

Where:

R = the pitch requirement

UDP = the number of pitches in unauthorised developments calculated by counting caravans on unauthorised sites and dividing by 1.7

AP = the number of authorised pitches calculated by counting caravans on authorised social rented and private sites and dividing by 1.7

 

The relevant caravan count data for Epping Forest and the results of applying this formula are shown in the table below.

 

 

 

Note a): The formula produces 53 as the pitch requirement at Jan 2006. The figure used in the EERA proposed policy was 49 pitches. The reasons for this discrepancy are unclear to us.

Note b): The data sources are as described in the note to Table 11.

 

The formula shows that accommodation requirements in Epping Forest have been broadly static over the last 3 years. There is no obvious trend up or down. However the trend in the total of caravans is slightly upwards, growing at about 0.8% p.a. (see Table 11). The reason for the apparent discrepancy is the marked reduction in caravans on unauthorised sites.

 

The overall picture is consistent with a broadly stable Gypsy and Traveller population, which is progressively being accommodated on authorised sites. There clearly still is a residual unmet accommodation requirement and the RSS formula indicates that this is around 45 pitches by 2014 (i.e. 5 years out from 2009). However there is no indication whatsoever that this is growing. If anything it is declining.

 

Adjusting to 70% the accommodation requirement of 45 pitches to reflect delivery constraints in the District gives a delivery requirement of 32 additional pitches by 2014. Assuming a compound growth rate of 1% p.a. in total pitches means a delivery requirement of 28 additional pitches by 2011 and a further 12 by 2021, 40 in all.

 

 

 

We believe the pitch requirements set out in Table 14 are excessive. If the Secretary of State were minded to accept the RSS formula as a basis for calculating delivery requirements in Epping Forest then we would argue that this scenario:

• does not fully recognise the delivery challenge faced by the District
• is based on a pitch distribution across Essex which is unfair to the District
• is based on a formula which was shown in the Fordham report (commissioned by Essex Planning Officers Association in 2007) to produce an over-estimation of pitch requirements in Essex.

 

The Fordham report recommended an alternative formula which uses caravan count data from 5 successive counts:

 

R = UDP + 0.3AP, where the count data is divided by a factor of 2.0 to give pitch requirements

 

Using the Table 13 caravan count data up to January 2009 gives an accommodation requirement for 34 additional pitches by 2014.

 

Adjusting to 70% the accommodation requirement of 34 pitches to reflect delivery constraints in the District gives a delivery requirement of 24 additional pitches by 2014. Assuming a compound growth rate of 1% p.a. in total pitches means a delivery requirement of 21 additional pitches by 2011 and a further 11 by 2021, 32 in all.

 

 

 

If the Secretary of State is minded not to accept evidence based on the latest Essex GTAA then we believe that the formula-based scenario set out in Table 16 is acceptable.

 

3% growth rate

 

For completeness, in the table below we show for each of the different bases considered for assessing accommodation requirements, the pattern of pitch requirements assuming 3% p.a. compound growth rate