Rooftop secures funding for new Gypsy and Traveller pitches

Rooftop Housing Group has been confirmed as one of the successful recipients of Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) funding for 33 housing associations, local authorities and other providers, to deliver around 600 new Gypsy and Traveller pitches. The announcement means Rooftop alone will be responsible for delivering 72 new units – 12% of the national total.

£1.7 million has been allocated to provide up to 38 new pitches in Gloucestershire in a joint project for Rooftop with Stroud District Council. The locations of pitches are yet to be confirmed but the current travellers site at Naas Lane, which is currently largely derelict land on the border of Gloucester and Stroud, could be a contender.

Rooftop has also been awarded £840,000 to build 18 new pitches in Worcester and a further £700,000 to create 16 new pitches in Solihull.

Tony Henderson, Gypsy and Traveller Project Manager for Rooftop Housing Group said: “This welcome news means that we can help traveller families find sites where they want to live whilst at the same time develop closer relations with adjacent communities and local authorities. As a group, Gypsies and Travellers remain one of the most disadvantaged in the country, experiencing deep inequalities and poor outcomes in health and education. Authorised Gypsy and Traveller sites help to tackle these issues and increased, high quality, authorised provision reduces the number of unauthorised sites and the tensions that can rise as a result.”

Now that funding has been secured, Rooftop will liaise closely with the relevant local authorities with the aim of submitting planning applications in the next few months. If things go well, work on the schemes could begin early 2013 with completion targeted by the end of March 2015.

Deputy Chief Executive of the HCA, Richard Hill, said: “One of our key aims is to provide homes where people want to live, and the travelling community is a part of that. We are pleased therefore to be able to confirm the funding allocations for this spending period and we will be continuing to work closely with our local partners to deliver the best solutions for this community where they are most needed.”