Mayor’s design guidance should be enhanced for Gypsy and Travellers

There is a chronic shortage of Gypsy and Traveller accommodation in London and research in 2019 found that just 10 pitches had been delivered in the capital since 2008. Sites for Gypsies and Travellers are also often placed near motorways, busy roads, refuse sites or other poor environments. 

Good quality and culturally suitable homes for Gypsy and Traveller communities in London are desperately needed and the Mayor of London has an opportunity to highlight this in final design guidance, which is set to be published in a series of London Plan Guidance (LPG) documents.

The London Assembly Planning and Regeneration Committee has published a letter today to the Mayor on how he can strengthen this planning design guidance.

The guidance could be improved to better represent the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers amongst other issues like protecting London's green spaces, access to sunlight and increasing the diversity of voices involved in future planning consultations.

The letter makes a number of recommendations:

• The final LPG should state that local authorities should consider the area's needs for community-led housing and Gypsy and Traveller accommodation and consider the designation of small sites for these uses. This would support local authorities, in their requirement under the London Plan, to meet the identified need for permanent Gypsy and Traveller pitches in their area. The Greater London Authority (GLA) should also develop London-wide design guidance for Gypsy and Traveller accommodation to be published alongside the new London-wide Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment (GTANA).
• The Small Site Design Codes LPG should include examples of how developers should preserve the footprint of biodiverse habitats within green spaces, when developing small residential sites. It should also contain additional wording on how local authorities should evaluate the extent to which small sites are 'underused' (for example with car parks, green space and playgrounds), when they are being considered for residential development.
• The Housing Design Standards LPG should make explicit the detrimental impact of overshadowing of buildings in terms of health, wellbeing and biodiversity and that where a building over 30 metres high is proposed, a micro-climate and wind assessment should be submitted. 
• The GLA should share more information with the Planning and Regeneration Committee regarding the size, make-up and diversity of the people that the GLA Planning Team consult.

Sakina Sheikh AM, Chair of the London Assembly Planning and Regeneration Committee, said:

"London Plan Guidance on Housing Design Standards and Small Site Design Codes set out a number of positive elements when it comes to ensuring Londoners get the homes and spaces they need. However, this design guidance requires more detail in some important areas, which the Planning and Regeneration Committee wants to put on record.

"There is a chronic shortage of suitable accommodation for Gypsy and Traveller communities and there is a pressing need for good quality and culturally appropriate accommodation. To help this community specifically, the Mayor's final design guidance should reflect these needs and look to improve the situation.

"Biodiverse habitats, access to sunlight, play space and other amenities also need to be carefully considered on behalf of Londoners and the Mayor should go further in his guidance to ensure they are protected."