Brent Council has set out a new dedicated framework to ‘rebuild trust’ with the community but one Traveller said they need an urgent solution to overcrowding at their Neasden site
A Traveller community in North London is calling for something to be “done fast” to address their dangerously overcrowded site, where, on one pitch, up to 15 people are having to share a single bathroom.
The local authority has acknowledged that it “could have done better” nurturing its relationship with the community, describing a new framework as “an opportunity to change that”.
In April last year, Brent Council said “urgent action” was needed to protect families living on the Lynton Close site in Neasden over fears that overcrowding and fire risks posed an “intolerable risk to life”. The local authority claims it has “already made progress” to rebuild trust with the community but has now outlined a new dedicated framework which aims to make the residents of the site feel heard.
The framework promises to provide safe and suitable sites, build stronger relationships, and make sure that the council’s services “are accessible and culturally appropriate”. However, the community “are very concerned ” that there doesn’t appear to be any plans for temporary sites, which they say would help ease the issues with overcrowding.
Speaking at a recent Cabinet meeting (September 7), Lynton Close resident, John O’Donnell, said he is glad that the council “is admitting that it needs to do better to meet the needs of Travellers in Brent” but noted that, whilst some progress has been made, the community is worried about an absence of a plan for temporary sites.
‘We’ve got to get something done fast’
Mr O’Donnell added: “Temporary sites at the moment from Lynton Close are needed in the worst way because of the overcrowding down there. We’ve got 10 to 15 people using one bathroom in one pitch, that’s how badly overcrowded that site is. Temporary sites would solve this.
“It would also solve the problem of travelling people moving around on the side of the road. It would get them places to stay, they would have no excuses for staying on public land, car parks, or whatever.
“There would be accommodation there, [it would be] hygienic. […] I cannot emphasise the importance of having temporary sites. I’ve said this at the last meeting we had here. We would like to know what progress has been made towards land being provided for these temporary sites. We talk about permanent sites, at the moment it’s got to be temporary. We’ve got to get something done, and done fast.”
Cabinet Member for Housing, Homelessness and Renters, Cllr Robert Johnson, responded to say that the council has an independent search company looking for sites but “it’s not as straight forward as finding the site and getting people on to it” as they must first be approved through the planning process.
He added that the local authority “have offered alternative accommodation” to the community but that they have been in temporary accommodation and not a dedicated site. The independent search company will come back to Cabinet with what they have found and the council “will then progress it from there”, according to Cllr Johnson.
‘More for us to do’
A recent council report states that, since last year, it has made progress through “closer engagement with residents, dedicated liaison roles, and working with a trusted organisation” to support the community but acknowledges that there is “much more for us to do”.
The latest dedicated framework sets three clear priorities that the council pledges to deliver; providing safe and suitable sites, building stronger relationships, and making sure that its services are accessible and culturally appropriate.
Cllr Johnson said: “It’s been more than a decade since we had a dedicated framework for these communities. In that time, we know that too many Gypsies, [Romanis] and Traveller residents have felt unheard and feel that they have not been listened to. This framework gives us an opportunity to change that.
“I also think it’s important that we are open about the past. The report acknowledges that we could have done better in our relationship with the Gypsy and Traveller community so rebuilding that trust will take some time.
“We have also previously backed up our commitment with a half a million pounds of capital investment for improvements at Lynton Close. We are equally clear that our engagement with Brent’s Roma community has not been good enough.”
Brent Council Leader, Cllr Muhammed Butt, added: “Everything we’re doing here is about making sure that the needs and the requirements of your community – not just in London, but across Brent and London – are going to be looked at seriously.
“There is a lot of work that we still need to do and I think this report is an acknowledgement of the work that we are going to be doing with the community, for the community; making sure that we set out the commitments to improve the outcomes, build the trust and the relationship between us as well, and ensure the services we have are responsive to the needs of the community going forward.”
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