Birmingham City Council statement on the needs of Gypsies and Travellers related to the Phase Three Revision of the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (WMRSS).
The joint Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) recommended that Birmingham deliver 16 new residential pitches for Gypsies and Travellers in the city by 2012, subject to verification in the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) phase three revision process. Birmingham has begun the process to deliver the 16 pitches in advance of this outcome.
In total, the study identified a need for an additional 19 permanent pitches in Birmingham, 16 of which are required before 2012 and 3 between 2012 and 2017. In addition, it identified a need for up to 10 transit pitches.
Birmingham is working towards submitting a bid for Homes and Community Agency (HCA) funding in the June 2010 bidding round, to develop provision for Gypsies and Travellers. HCA funding, if successfully bid for, would cover all build costs. Deliverability, sustainability, ongoing site maintenance and management, and value for money will be central to the proposals put to the HCA.
Work has begun visiting sites which have been promoted as models of good practice elsewhere in the country, and we are considering what makes for sound and effective allocation policies.