TRAVELLERS and Gypsies must be given more legal sites to reduce racial tensions and cut the multimillion-pound annual eviction bill, according to a report published today.

An inquiry by the Commission for Racial Equality has found that providing 500 acres of land is the only "sustainable solution" to unwanted camps.

The new locations should be given the same funding and attention as other forms of public housing, the study concluded.

Launching the report in central London today, CRE chairman Trevor Phillips said such a move would have "benefits for everyone in the community".

Consensus

"We found a consensus on this across government, with the Local Government Association and Association of Chief Police Officers, so it's ludicrous that the cycle of unauthorised sites, eviction and hostility can't be broken.

"We have the answer: sites need to be well-managed and properly resourced, on a par with other forms of housing."

Among its key points, the investigation into the promotion of good race relations and race equality found: "The provision of sufficient legal sites is the only sustainable solution to the problems faced by local communities and gypsies and Irish travellers.

"Facilitating private sites and providing necessary public sites with appropriate facilities - for which rent is paid - means there is no need to camp in unsuitable places."

Evictions

It warns: "The alternative is a continuous cycle of evictions estimated to cost é18 million a year."

The inquiry, which focused on planning, site provision and unauthorised encampments, says local authorities tend to be "ad hoc and reactive" and shaped by public complaints in their work with gypsy sites.

It urges a strategic and long-term approach to enforcement and site provision as part of overall housing strategy, and also called for strong local leadership.

Many authorities, both at local and parish level, failed to see gypsies and Irish travellers as constituents whose needs they should represent, it said, while some actively resist providing sites or services for sites.

And while there was "lots of good practice", work was still needed to proactively promote good community relations and build integrated communities.

Catch-22

It added: "The way most local authorities currently approach gypsy sites and services benefits no-one: gypsies and Irish travellers cannot access suitable sites and services, and their health, education and welfare suffers; the wider community suffers the environmental and financial consequences of unauthorised encampments and developments."

CRE Commissioner Sarah Spencer, who led the 18-month inquiry, said: "Councillors find themselves in a Catch-22 situation when identifying land and providing sites for gypsies and Irish travellers.

"Public hostility about unauthorised encampments and developments presents a political barrier to dealing with the primary cause of the problem, which is the shortage of sites.

"Also the irresponsible behaviour of a small minority of gypsies and Irish travellers, entrenches public hostility towards these groups as a whole, and causes further resistance."

WOULD more official sites tackle the problems surrounding unauthorised encampments? Have your say.

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