By Damian Hinds MP - 7th September 2010
When this subject comes up it often comes in a sentence along with the words gypsies and travellers. I deliberately did not include any reference to particular communities in the title of the debate: the great majority of gypsies and travellers are not at all involved in unauthorised development. Instead, the issue is about problem behaviour where it does occur, and aspects of the planning system which have lost public confidence.
On the wider subject of gypsies and travellers and the planning system, the government has already taken important and welcome steps. These include revoking flawed Whitehall planning circulars, giving new incentives to local areas to provide sites and giving stronger tenancy rights to gypsies and travellers on authorised council sites.
Cases of unauthorised development and abuse of retrospective planning permission happen in a minority of cases but can cause great difficulties locally when they do. In a typical case, a family would buy a piece of land previously used for agricultural purposes, then over a bank holiday weekend, put down a hard surface and move one or more caravans or mobile homes on to it. Then, a retrospective planning application is made and a long protracted process begins.
In cases where this has happened, local communities can be left with the impression that there is one rule for the local settled community and another for the travelling community. This is a problem, because the guarantee which underpins a diverse but cohesive society is the guarantee of equality before the law.
At root this is an issue of fairness, of people knowing that the same rules apply to all. We need to arrive at some sensible steps to close loopholes, prevent abuses and give people a system they can have faith in. This is what I hope we can bring out of our debate today.
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