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Councils face anger over £97m plan to tackle Gypsy housing crisis
• Minister to announce winning bids soon
• East of England expected to receive largest sum

* Jenny Percival
* guardian.co. uk, Thursday November 20 2008 00.01 GMT
* The Guardian, Thursday November 20 2008

Ministers are poised to announce the locations of scores of new and
refurbished Gypsy sites under a £97m scheme aimed at addressing a
housing crisis among Gypsies and Travellers.

About a third of the money is expected to go to the east of England -
which has about a quarter of the country's travelling families but only
16% of the official sites - and just under a fifth to the south-east, it
is understood. Milton Keynes and Brighton councils are each asking for
almost £2m to build new sites, while South Norfolk council wants
£250,000 to help Gypsies establish a number of smaller sites.

Iain Wright, the communities minister, whose department is offering the
£97m in grants over three years to help create homes for up to 25,000
Gypsies and Travellers, will announce the winning bids in the coming
weeks.

Milton Keynes council is asking for £1.8m to build a site at Fenny Lock,
close to Bletchley. Reflecting the difficulty councils face when making
decisions about sites, a Milton Keynes Labour councillor, Reg Edwards,
whose grandmother was a Romany Gypsy, said local people had not been
told of the council's plans.

"I've got nothing against Travellers, some of my family were Romanies,
but the reaction is not going to be pleasant," he said. "Travellers'
sites need to be on the outskirts - not in the middle of a populated
area. There'll be a lot of conflict."

In Brighton, the Conservative- led council is hoping to secure £1.7m to
build a site housing 14 families at Sheepcote Valley, on the eastern
outskirts of the city. Labour councillors say it is a party political
decision to put it in a Labour ward.

People on the sites will pay rent and council tax, and in return the
authorities will provide rubbish collection, running water, electricity
and other services.

The scheme also aims to cut the £1.8m annual bill faced by local
authorities evicting Travellers from illegal sites in what can turn into
protracted court battles.

"A good supply of authorised sites can break the vicious circle of
evictions that is costly in terms of both taxpayers' money and the
quality of life for Gypsies, Travellers and settled communities, " said
the Department of Communities and Local Government.

The charity Friends, Families and Travellers welcomed the scheme but
said most bids involved improving existing sites, which did little to
help the estimated 25,000 people using illegal sites. Emma Nuttall, a
spokeswoman, said: "There are still far too many people forced to live
on the side of the road without electricity, running water or access to
education, health or refuse services."

The shadow planning minister, Jacqui Lait, said local authorities were
being "coerced" by the government into providing new sites - a policy
that would be reversed by a Conservative government.
Where grants may go

East £28m

South-east £17m

South-west £14m

East Midlands £9.5m

West Midlands £7.5m

London £6m

North-west £6m

Yorkshire and Humber £6m

North-east £3m

http://www.guardian .co.uk/society/ 2008/nov/ 20/housing- communities-
gypsies