§ Mr. Newensasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list all additional sites provided for gipsies and other travellers by local authorities in England and Wales during the course of 1975, indicating in each case the number of places provided;
603W(2) if he will estimate the total population of gipsies and other travellers, the total number of family units involved and the number of places on authorised sites available for the caravans or mobile homes which they occupy;
(3) if he will list the number of places provided for gipsies and other travellers on authorised sites by each appropriate local authority.
§ Mr. John SilkinProvisionally, it appears that 13 additional sites provid-
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GIPSY SITE PROVISION IN ENGLAND AND WALES AT 31ST DECEMBER 1975 (PROVISIONAL) (Sites marked * were established during 1975) County ENGLAND District Council (Name and/or Location of Site) Number of Pitches Bedfordshire … … South Bedfordshire (Pepperstock, Caddington) … 12 *South Bedfordshire (Chiltern View, Eaton Bray) … 18 Luton (Stopsley) … 15 Berkshire … … Newbury (Burghfield Common) … 20 Bracknell (Easthampstead) … 12 Buckinghamshire … … Beaconsfield (Mansion Lane, Iver) … 25 Cambridgeshire … … *Fenland (New Bridge Lane, Wisbech) … 16 *Peterborough (Oxney Road) … 16 Cheshire … … Crewe (Wrenbury Heath) … 15 Chester (Bumpers Lane) … 12† Halton (Warrington Road. Wisbech) … 15† Vale Royal (Hapsford, Near Helsby) … 15 Cornwall … … Kerrier (Camborne) … 6 Derbyshire … … Derby (Chequers Lane) … 5† Derby (Chequers Lane) … 6† Derby (Stuart Street) … 4† Devonshire … … East Devon (Broadclyst, Near Exeter) … 10 *East Devon (Sowton, Near Exeter) … 45† Dorset … … Poole (Mannings Heath) … 22 West Dorset (Piddlehinton, Dorchester) … 12† Durham … … Darlington (Whessoe Road) … 20† East Sussex … … Wealden (Swan Barn, Hailsham) … 3 Wealden (Poley Arch, Polegate) … 3 Essex … … Epping Forest (Foot Hill, Stanford Rivers) … 12 Harlow (Fernhill Lane) … 16 Basildon (Station Lane, Pitsea) … 35† *Basildon (Hovefields Avenue, Pitsea) … 20 Harlow—Winter sites only … 27† Gloucestershire … … Forest of Dean (Valley Road, Cinderford) … 8 Tewkesbury (Cursey Lane, Elmstone Hardwicke) … 14 Stroud (The Willows, Sandhurst Lane, Near Gloucester) … 30 Greater London … … Barking (Eastbrook End, Dagenham) … 16 Barnet (Colney Hatch Lane, Finchley) … 12† Bexley (Powerscroft Road, Foots Cray, Sidcup … 15 Bromley (Star Lane, St. Mary Cray) … 12 Croydon (Beddington Farm Road) … 15 Ealing (Kensington Road, Northolt) … 16† Enfield (Montagu Road, Edmonton) … 15 Greenwich (Harrow Manorway, Abbey Wood … 54 *Harrow (Watling Farm, Elstree) … 15 Havering (South Park, North Ockenon) … 16 Hillingdon (Colne Park, Cricketfield Road, West Drayton) … 22† Hounslow (The Hartlands, Church Road, Cranford) … 15† Kingston upon Thames (Hook Rise South, Tolworth, Surbiton) … 15† Lewisham (Thurston Road) … 15† Merton (Durnsford Road, Wimbledon) … 15 Newham (Templer Mills Lane) … 14 Redbridge (North View, Forest Road, Hainault) … 16 Richmond upon Thames (Bishops Grove, Hampton) … 16 Sutton (Carshalton Road, Woodmansterne, Banstead) … 15 Waltham Forest (Folly Lane, Walthamstow) … 16 ing 246 pitches were established during 1975. Details of these, and of all local authority sites in England and Wales, are tabulated below. My Department is currently seeking firmer information from local authorities of site provision, and of any closures during 1975. Final figures should be available shortly.
There are probably more than 6,000 gipsy families in England and Wales comprising 30,000–35,000 persons. Less than a third of these can be accommodated on authorised sites.
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County District Council (Name and/or Location of Site) Number of Pitches Greater Manchester … Manchester (Dantzic Street) … … 16 Bolton (Hall Lane) … … 16 Bury (Todd Street) … … 13 Wigan (Bickershaw Lane, Abram, Hindley) … … 15 Wigan (Miry Lane) … … 15† Stockport (Hatherlow Street) … … 15† Hampshire … *Southampton (Redbridge Lane) … … 20† Hereford and Worcester … Wychavon (Hipton Hill, Evesham) … … 15 Bromsgrove (Wythall) … … 12 Hertfordshire … Welwyn Hatfield (Holwell Court, Hatfield Road, Hatfield) 18 Hertsmere (Sandy Lane, Bushey) … … 27 St. Albans (Barley Mow Lane, Smallford) … … 15 St. Albans (Three Cherry Trees) … … 15 Welwyn Garden City (Tolpits Lane, Watford) … … 4† St. Albans (Park Street) … … 6 Humberside … Beverley (Middledyke Lane, Cottingham) … … 34† Kent … Dartford (Swanscombe Cutting) … … 12 Medway (Cuxton) … … 12 Maidstone (Marden) … … 15 Tonbridge and Malling (West Malling) … … 16 Sevenoaks (Edenbridge) … … 12 Maidstone (Ulcombe) … … 12 Ashford (Chilmington, Great Chard) … … 16 Lancashire … Blackburn (Albion Road) … … 17 Lancaster (Salt Ayre) … … 15† Preston (London Road) … … 15† Leicestershire … Leicester (Meynell Gorse, Golf Course Lane, Braunstone) 15 Bosworth (Aston Firs, Sapcote, Near Hinckley) … 15 North West Leicestershire (Castle Donington) … … 3 Lincolnshire … Lincoln (Blyton) … … 15 South Kesteven (Grantham) … … 16 Merseyside) … Liverpool (Oil Street, Waterloo Dock) … … 24 St. Helens (Sherdley Road) … … 12 Norfolk … Norwich (Milecross Road) … … 15 Northamptonshire … Daventry (Gypsy lane, Irchester) … … 16 Northumberland … *Wansbeck (Shields Road, Hartford) … … 15 Nottinghamshire … Nottingham (Moorbridge) … … 15 Oxfordshire … Wallingford (Sandford on Thames) … … 16 Oxford (Slade Park) … … 15 Vale of White Horse (East Challow) … … 12 Somerset … Sedgmoor (Westonzoyland) … … 8 *Sedgmoor (Farringdon Hill Lane) … … 16 Yeovil (Chubbards Cross, Ilton) … … 15 Yeovil (Chilworthy Donyatt) … … 5† Taunton Deane (Otterford, Near Taunton) … … 5 South Yorkshire … Rotherham (North Anston) … … 15 Doncaster (Armthorpe) … … 16 Sheffield (Tinsley Park) … … 15† Staffordshire … Stoke-on-Trent (Linehouses) … … 20 *Newcastle-under-Lyme (Lyme Brook Valley) … … 15† Surrey … Tandridge (Tupwood Lane, Caterham) … … 10† Tandridge (Green Lane, Outwood) … … 49 Waverley (Alma Nursery, Farnham) … … 15† Guildford (Rectory Field, Woking Road) … … 5† Tyne and Wear … Newcastle (Lemington) … … 10† Gateshead (Abbots Road) … … 15† West Midlands … Birmingham (Chester Road Industrial Estate, Castle Bromwich) … … 15 Sandwell (Brierley Lane, Coseley) … … 15 Wolverhampton (Showell Road) … … 15 *Dudley (Oak Lane) … … 15 *Walsall … … 15 West Sussex … Chichester (Tangmere) … … 16 Mid Sussex (Walstead, Near Linfield) … … 7 West Yorkshire … Leeds (Cottingley Springs, Gelderd Road) … … 15 Bradford (Esholt Lane Baildon) … … 16 Wakefield (Heath Common) … … 20† Wiltshire … Salisbury (Lode Hill Downton) … … 12 Thamesdown (Hay Lane, Wroughton) … … 30 Total—England 122 sites (87 permanent, 35 temporary) with 1,861 pitches (1,357 permanent, 504 temporary).
WALES County District Council (Name and/or Location of Site) Number of Pitches Dyfed … … Llanelli (Morfa) … 24 South Pembrokeshire (Kingsmoor Common, Kilgetty) … 12 Preseli (Under the Hills, Haverfordwest) … 10 Preseli (Withybush, Haverfordwest) … 8† Preseli (Withybush, Haverfordwest) … 8† South Glamorgan … … Cardiff (Rover Way) … 20 Gwent … … Blaenau Gwent (cm Crachen, Nantyglo) … 15 *Torfaen (Upper Race, Pontypool) … 20 Total—Wales 7 sites (6 permanent, 1 temporary) with 109 pitches (101 permanent, 8 temporary). Grand Total—England and Wales 129 sites (93 permanent, 36 temporary) with 1,970 pitches (1,458 permanent, 512 temporary). † Temporary.