Gypsies’ and Travellers’ lived experiences, homes, England and Wales: 2022
Published on 7 December, 2022.
- Participants' living situations varied greatly; some lived in houses or flats, some in chalets on private land with only a small number of neighbours, and others on large sites owned and managed by a local authority.
- Some participants continued to live a mostly nomadic lifestyle, stopping at transit sites or on the side of the road where they could, although living nomadically was described as increasingly difficult because of the lack of authorised stopping places, likelihood of being moved on by police, and fears of prosecution as a result of the recently introduced Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (2022).
- Of those who had opted to live in a permanent home, some lamented the loss of a nomadic lifestyle, while others appeared to adapt and, in some instances, preferred living in bricks and mortar.
- The accommodation needs and preferences of participants varied, however, a common priority among participants was wanting to live somewhere they felt safe, with access to basic amenities such as electricity, water and showers, and where they could live near to loved ones.
- Some appeared to live in circumstances such as this, while others described a lack of basic amenities, limited choices, a sense of being unsafe and few positive relationships with others around them, with potentially detrimental impacts on their physical and mental well-being.
- Increasing provision of permanent and transit sites, designed through consultation with communities, was described by both community members and local and central government participants as an important way to address the housing and accommodation challenges of Gypsies and Travellers.