Newport Council Set to Open Permanent Site for Gypsy and Traveller Communities

Three pitches could be occupied next year at a permanent site in Newport for members of the Gypsy and Traveller communities.
The site, in the Ringland ward, is expected to be ready “early” in the 2025/26 financial year, according to a Newport City Council report.
It is expected the site will operate at a loss initially, but could become “financially sustainable” if more residents take up pitches there in future.
Developed with Welsh Government funding, it will contain units for let to households “from within [the] Newport Gypsy Traveller community” who are registered on the city’s common housing register.
Work to finalise the site has reportedly been “complex” and hampered by vandalism, “illegal occupation” and archaeological finds.
According to council documents, the site will initially have three pitches but there is the “capacity for future expansions”.
If fully developed, the site could comprise up to 35 pitches, although the council acknowledges this could “take some time” to achieve and would rest on further grant funding.
At a meeting to discuss the site, Cllr Matthew Evans sought assurances that the council knew future residents would be “people genuinely from Newport”.
Council officers admitted people from outside the city could apply for a pitch, but said the site policy would “give priority to Newport residents, or those with a connection to the area”.
Cllr Saeed Adan, the cabinet member for housing, signed off this week on plans to set the pitch fees and service charges for next year’s residents.
The council plans to initially charge weekly pitch fees of £110, worth more than £17,000 if the three pitches are occupied year-round.
This equates to charging around 80% of the market value for the pitches, according to the council report, which recorded some “concerns” from Cllr Evans around “the potential shortfall of revenue, which the council can ill afford to do”.
The council’s housing strategy manager said there will be a social rent element in terms of cost – which means residents should be eligible to claim benefits support, should they wish to do so.
Cllr Adan added it was “important to provide an affordable housing offer to this group not least due to their characteristics and the challenges they face in accessing housing”.
The income generated will “contribute to the management and maintenance of the site”, the council said. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​