A search has begun for potential sites to host Gypsy and Traveller communities in the Wokingham area.

Wokingham Borough Council is looking for suggested sites and is asking landowners, parish and town councils, or housing developers to put forward sites which they think might be suitable for Gypsy and Traveller pitches.

These sites can be either available now or in the future.

Councillor Lindsay Ferris (Liberal Democrats, Twyford), executive member for planning and local plan, said: “We have a duty to plan for everyone who lives in our borough and our Gypsy and Traveller communities will also require additional space and pitches in years to come.

“These communities, which have protected status as an ethnic group, face a shortage of sites nationally and we want to play our part in helping to meet local need within the borough.

“By providing places for Gypsies and Travellers to live, it helps families maintain their existing local links and assists in reducing social exclusion and isolation.

"We’re urging anyone who can suggest potentially suitable sites to us to come forward before the deadline.”

The call for sites is being undertaken as part of the council’s Local Plan Update exercise, which involves allocating land for development.

Councils have a statutory requirement to assess the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers, along with the settled population, and develop a strategy that addresses any unmet need that is identified.

Wokingham Borough Council has called for residents and interested parties to put forward their suggestions for improving offerings in the borough.

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Anyone who can help should visit the Engage Wokingham website to download a form and return it by 5pm on Friday, February 17 for the submission to be considered.

Forms can be emailed back to lpu@wokingham.gov.uk or posted to Growth & Delivery Team, Wokingham Borough Council, Civic Offices, Shute End, Wokingham, RG40 1WR.

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A separate form needs to be submitted for each individual site proposed and completed as clearly, accurately and fully as possible, accompanied by an exact site location and boundary plan to a recognisable scale.

The council is likely to share this information with other local authorities, both neighbouring and further afield, to ensure cooperation over the wider region.

According to the Gypsy and Traveller Local Plan: Preferred Options document from 2015, there were 131 Gypsy and Traveller pitches in Wokingham Borough in 2014.

The document assessed the need for Gypsy and Traveller pitches from 2014-2029.

Back in 2020, the council approved a plan to add four pitches to Finchampstead Caravan Club bringing the total on that site to eight.

The website campsites.co.uk lists six sites suitable for caravans in the Wokingham area.

However, only one of these -the Heritage Family Naturist Campsite in Heath Ride, Crowthorne- is actually in Wokingham Borough.