§ Mr. Douglas-Mannasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the latest estimate of his Department, region by region, of the number of caravan sites required by gipsies and the number available;
(2) whether he will make a statement setting out the local authorities which have provided their quota of sites under the Caravan Sites Act, showing the numbers provided, and the local authorities which have not yet done so, showing the numbers yet to be provided; and what action he proposes in respect of those which have not yet provided their quotas.
§ Mr. John SilkinPrecise estimates of the numbers of gipsy families in England and Wales are not available, but there are probably about 7,000 in all. The duty on local authorities under the Caravan Sites Act 1968 is to provide, not a quota of sites, but adequate accommodation for all gipsies residing in or resorting to their area.
As at 31st December 1975 there were 132 local authority sites in England and Wales, offering accommodation for 2,110 gipsy caravans. Details are given in the table below, which supersedes the provisional table published in the Official Report on 23th January.
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County District Council (Name and/or Location of Site) Number of Pitches Durham *Darlington (Honeypot Lane) … 20† *Darlington (Neasham Road) … 20 East Sussex Wealden (Swan Barn, Hailsham) … 3 Wealden (Polly Arch, Polegate) … 3 Essex Epping Forest (Toot Hill, Standford Rivers) … 12 Harlow (Fernhill Lane) … 16 *Basildon (Hovefields) … 20 Harlow (Peldon Road) Wintering site … 20† Gloucestershire Forest of Dean (Cinders Caravan Site, Crump Meadow, Cinderford) 10 Tewkesbury (Cursey Lane, Elmstone Hardwicke … 14 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, Footscray, Sidcup) … 15 *Brent (North Circular Road, NW10) … 10† Bromley (Star Lane, St. Mary Cray) … 12 Camden … Nil Croydon (Beddington Farm Road) … 15 Ealing (Kensington Road, Northolt) … 16† Enfield (Montague Road, Edmonton) … 15 Greenwich (Harrow Manorway, Abbey Wood) … 54 Hackney … Nil *Hammersmith (Olaf Street) … 10† Haringey … Nil *Harrow (Watling Farm, Elstree) … 15 Havering (Stubbers Pursuit Centre, South Ockendon) … 16 Hillingdon (Colne Park, Cricketfield Road, West Drayton) 22† Hounslow (The Hartlands, Church Road. Cranford) … 15† Islington … Nil *Kensington and Chelsea (Kensal Road Sub-Depot) … 10† Kingston upon Thames (Hook Rise South. Tolworth, Surbiton) 15† *Lambeth (Rosendale Road) … 15† Lewisham (Thurston Road) … 15ߤ Merton (Durnsford Road, Wimbledon) … 15 Newham (Templar Mills, Clays Lane, Stratford) … 14 Redbridge (North View, Forest Road, Hainault) … 16 Richmond upon Thames (Bishops Grove. Hampton) … 16 *Southwark (King Arthur Street, SE15) … 15† Sutton (Carshalton Road. Woodmansterne, Banstead) … 15 Tower Hamlets … Nil Waltham Forest (Folly Lane, Walthamstow) … 16 Wandsworth … Nil 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† *Oldham (Ada Street) … 16† Hampshire *Southampton (Redbridge Lane) … 20† *Southampton (Kanes Hill) … 20† *Hart (Star Hill, Hartley Wintney) … 20† Hereford and Worcester Wychavon (Hipton Hill, Evesham) … 15 Bromsgrove (Wythall) … 12 Hertfordshire Welwyn Hatfield (Holwell Court, Hatfield Road, Hatfield) 19 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† Isle of Wight — Nil Kent Dartford (Claywood Lane) … 12 Medway (Cuxton) … 12 Maidstone (Marden) … 15 Tonbridge and Malling (Windmill Lane) … 16 Sevenoaks (Edenbridge) … 12 Maidstone (Ulcombe) … 12 Ashford (Chilmington, Great Chard) … 16
County District Council (Name and/or Location of Site) Number of Pitches Lancashire Blackburn (Albion Road) … 17 Preston (London Road) … 15† Leicestershire Leicester (Meynell Gorse, Golf Course Lane, Braunstone) … 15 Bosworth (Aston Firs, Sapcote, Near Hinckley) … 15 North West Leicestershire (Station Yard, Castle Donnington) … 3 Lincolnshire Lincoln (Blyton) … 15 South Kesteven (Grantham) … 16 Merseyside Liverpool (Oil Street, Waterloo Dock) … 24 St. Helens (Sherdley Road) … 12 Norfolk Norwich (Mile Cross Road) … 15 Northamptonshire Daventry (Gypsy Lane, Irchester) … 16 Northumberland *Wansbeck (Shields Road, Hartford) … 15 North Yorkshire — Nil Nottinghamshire Nottingham (Moor Bridge) … 15 Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire (Sandford on Thames, Wallingford) … 16 Oxford (Slade Park) … 15 Vale of White Horse (Woodhill Lane, East Challow) … 12 Salop — Nil Somerset Sedgemoor (Westonzoy Land) … 8 *Sedgemoor (Farringdon Hill Lane) … 10 Yeovil (Chubbards Cross, Ilton) … 15 Yeovil (Chilworthy Donyatt) … 5† South Yorkshire Rotherham (North Anston) … 15 Doncaster (Armthrope) … 16 Sheffield (Tinsley Park) … 15† *Barnsley (Smithies Lane) … 15† Staffordshire Stoke-on-Trent (Linehouses) … 20 *Newcastle-under-Lyme (Lyme Brook Valley) … 15† *South Staffordshire (Norton Road, Walsall) … 10† Suffolk — Nil Surrey Tandridge (Tupwood Lane, Caterham) … 10† Tandridge (Green Lane, Outwood) … 49 Waverley (Alma Nursery, Farnham) … 15† Tyne and Wear Newcastle (Lemington) … 10† Gateshead (Abbey Road, Oakwelgate) … 15† Warwickshire — Nil West Midlands Birmingham (Castle Vale) … 16 Sandwell (Brierley Lane, Coseley) … 15 Wolverhampton (Showell Road) … 15 *Dudley (Oak Lane) … 15 *Walsall (Willenhall Lane) … 15 *Solihull (Bickenhill) … 15 West Sussex Chichester (Tangmere) … 22 Mid Sussex (Walstead, Near Lindfield) … 7 West Yorkshire Leeds (Cottingley Springs, Gelderd Road) … 15 Bradford (Esholt Lane, Baildon) … 16 Wakefield (Heath Common) … 20† Wiltshire Salisbury (Lodge Hill, Downton) … 12 Thamesdown (Hay Lane, Wroughton) … 30 Total (England): 125 sites (92 permanent, 33 temporary) with 1,987 pitches (1,459 permanent, 528 temporary).
WALES County District Council (Name and/or Location of Site) Number of Pitches Clwyd — Nil Dyfed Llanelli (Morfa) … 32 South Pembrokeshire (Kingsmoor Common, Kilgetty) … 15 Preseli (Under the Hills, Haverfordwest) … 10 Preseli (Withybush, Haverfordwest) … 10 Gwent Blaenau Gwent (Blaina) … 15 *Torfaen (Upper Race, Pontypool) … 20 Gwynedd — Nil Mid Glamorgan — Nil Powys — Nil South Glamorgan Cardiff (Rover Way) … 21 West Glamorgan — Nil Total (Wales): 7 sites (7 permanent) with 123 pitches (123 permanent). Grand Total: 132 sites (99 permanent, 33 temporary) with 2,110 pitches (1,582 permanent, 528 temporary).