Kingswells Community Council

Consultation On

The Provision Of Halting Sites

For Gypsy Travellers

2nd October 2007

Kingswells Community Council would like to thank this Committee for the opportunity to address the issue of Gypsy Traveller Halting sites.

We welcome the decision taken to rule out the Old Skene Road Kingswells as we too agree it is completely unsuitable to be considered as a halting site.

Although we represent the people of Kingswells, we feel that this is a city wide problem. Any proposed halting site thrust in the wrong place, will affect a large amount of people - and not just the immediate neighbouring settlers. For example, the proposal to use Kingswells Park and Ride will not only affect citizens within the city but also in the ‘shire where it has been reported that people will not use the car park when gypsy travellers are present.

•1    Kingswells Community Council Concerns

We are concerned that the point of the cards from Kingswells has been misinterpreted. The cards provided local input to the seventeen criteria against which the sites were to be assessed, and some comments on the process to date. Given that 71% of responses came from the cards it is difficult to see how Aberdeen City Council has concluded:

• 1. the original assessment against the criteria is considered to stand up to scrutiny
• 2. there has been an overwhelming negative response
• 3. there has been widespread lack of understanding of the issues
• 4. there has been overall endorsement for the concept of halting sites
• 5. hiding the gypsies from view is sufficient

Furthermore, there is no assessment of the alternative sites proposed from community councils or the public at large.

Another concern is the point of view held by some officials and the police that there are no real problems associated with Gypsy Travellers - it is rather a matter of perception, stereotypes and bad press coverage. However, as a community we have experience now of hosting unauthorised gypsy traveller's sites and we have encountered real issues - they are not just "perceived". We have listed many incidents in our report. Some of which are:

• Gypsy travellers have been very intimidating.
• A Kingswells school child has been assaulted on public transport.
• Experienced fly tipping in public places.
• Open air fires have been set in the evenings.
• Dogs are used to intimidate.

We, at Kingswells, have certainly reported on many occasions, illegal behaviour to the police. However, the police response is to ask the public for the identity of wrong doers (even to the extent of identifying the owner of excrement dumped in a car park.) With such unrealistic demands it is not surprising that incidents often do not appear on official reports or lead to prosecution, with the end result that the public do not bother to report incidents.

•2   Conclusions from report

The conclusions of the North and South reports are that 3 of the 4 sites should be identified at a future date with additional consultation with the communities concerned. The site at Kingswells Park and Ride car park is not seen as suitable in the long term and a more suitable site should be found around Kingswells.

There seems to be little point using the P&R at all given that:

• no consultation has taken place on use of the lower car park
• use of the lower car park will pose more problems for the community than the upper car park
• the use of the P&R for any housing, including caravans, contravenes terms of sale of the land - strangely this has not been reported to you.
• We will insist that a normal planning process, including public inquiry will be required even if the car park is only used as a short term solution.

Kingswells Community Council agrees that the Park and Ride is not a suitable solution and an alternative is required in the North of Aberdeen. However, we cannot understand why officials specify that this must be in the west or north of Kingswells. 

The report before you suggests that halting sites can successfully deal with Gypsy issues without the co-operation of the settled community. A better solution for all would be to locate the sites at some distance from any settled community - this was one of the key issues identified from the consultation.

Part of the consultation was to identify alternate sites and the public have responded with a list, yet no assessment of these has been made. In essence the process is no further forward. Both North and South Committees have been given an impossible task and this needs to be identified to the full council in November.

•3   Problems Require Different Solutions

Although the halting sites may be deemed "temporary" to the travellers they will have permanent effects on the neighbouring communities.

Any issues with halting sites will require ‘permanent' solutions rather than the temporary, reactive measures that are currently put into place for the unauthorised sites. These new issues, their solutions and relative costs -which are partially funded from local taxes - have not been identified to date.

One example of more permanent provision will be the education of travelling children. This may be provided by private tuition at each halting site or at a central educational facility to which children from each site travel, or by integrating the children at each site in the local school. Each of these three options will entail added cost for the Council.

In the event that the travelling children are housed at the local school, there will be a permanent disruption to the local children of the settled community due to the continual to-ing and fro-ing of new children to their classes. Travelling children will require additional attention from teaching staff as they will not be at the same point in their education as the rest of the class. Unlike most schools in the city where falling rolls and spare capacity are commonplace Kingswells is unique as it has a rising school roll and any spare capacity is earmarked to be utilised for new housing proposed in the Local Plan.

•4   Why The Rush?

Many other issues will also need to be taken into account before rushing into a decision, for example - policing, social work and medical care provision.

A correctly positioned Halting site is where the needs of both settled and travelling communities are satisfied. Aberdeen City Council has clearly recognised that local opposition is inevitable. However, officials have obviously chosen to undemocratically disregard the views of the public.

Much has been said about traveller's rights, but settlers are entitled to democracy and human rights too. If the wrong site is chosen today, the ensuing democratic process of public inquiries and lengthy human rights procedures will inevitably cause delays. We, as a city need to get this right first time round. Today is your opportunity to do this.

Aberdeen City officials are rushing to find a local solution to a national problem - leading the way to be the first in Scotland to provide so many halting places. After all, there is no statutory requirement for local authorities to provide halting sites for gypsy travellers. There is a real implication that by adopting a perceived gypsy traveller friendly policy, Aberdeen will become a magnet for gypsy travellers in the future. The spiral of providing more and more additional halting sites will escalate to satisfy the growing need. This is illustrated in Fife where the provision of a single site was quickly rendered insufficient and now is to be increased.

•5   Alternative Sites

Kingswells Community Council has identified two alternate sites. (See Hand out). These offer a safe, pleasant, sheltered environment for travellers and their children. These rural sites are within the city, close to community facilities and better meet Aberdeen City Council's own identified criteria. We are disappointed to see that officials have not investigated -or indeed mentioned in their report- the Dyce site which we have put forward. Nor is the use of Sclattie Quarry, which was also supported by Bucksburn Community Council. These sites are large enough to offer future expansion as halting sites and could provide permanent provision too.  A full assessment of these sites is required. While these sites are completely suitable, it should not stop Aberdeen City Council continuing to evaluate the list which the public supplied.

•6   Recommendations

Kingswells Community Council urges the North Committee to recommend that the Park and Ride is not used as a halting site - even on a temporary basis and that a more suitable alternative site be found in the north. Aberdeen should avoid rushing into a ‘quick fix' solution and more time should be taken to consider the issues properly. If -as a city - we proceed down the line of providing halting sites then they must be in the right place. The problem is a complex one and any wrong decision, today, will have a devastating affect on any neighbouring community and the city of Aberdeen, for many, many years to come.