Yorkshire Told To Provide 255 New Gypsy Sites

THE gypsy capital of Britain will be a county famous for its quaint villages and rolling hills on the orders of Government planners.

They have told Yorkshire to provide 255 new sites for gypsies by the end of the year.

Local council leaders are stunned by the demand which they have blasted as “ridiculous”.

They cannot understand why they must provide 255 camps when only 90 new ones were built across the entire country in 2009.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority has already announced in its latest draft housing plan that no gypsy sites will be allowed on its land.

Mark Crane, leader of Selby District Council, said: “The idea of building this many sites is ridiculous and will leave a lot of people very anxious.” The policy appears in a Regional Spatial Strategy document among a range of plans drawn up by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Dorset has been told it must provide 425 pitches for gypsy caravans by 2011 but council chiefs have only pinpointed about 125 so far.

Wiltshire is being ordered to find 49 pitches, plus 25 for Tendring in Essex.

A range of tough powers is now available to clamp down on anti-social behaviour by gypsies and travellers.

The list includes Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and injunctions for families.

According to the latest Government figures, there are thought to be 17,865 gypsy caravans on sites around the country.

One in five is not on an authorised pitch and does not have access to basic services.

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