Haldon ridge traveller site

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) announced funding of £1.1m to turn the long standing unauthorised traveller site in Haldon, near Exeter into a smaller permanent facility for travellers.

Since it was first occupied in August 2001 the site has been unauthorised but tolerated by local authorities, including land owner Devon County Council (DCC) and planning authority Teignbridge District Council (TDC). It has however been in need of a long term solution and we have been working with Devon County Council and Teignbridge District Council in their bid for funding for a formal site.

We have a strong culture of recognising the individual needs of a diverse community. As Teignbridge’s main housing association, we are committed to meeting local housing needs and managing a permanent site for travellers will be an exciting and challenging new direction for us as a business.

“This is a positive step towards providing a permanent site for travellers at Haldon. Individual Gypsy and Traveller groups are very diverse and we will work closely with travellers at Haldon to understand their needs so that any plans we submit create a sustainable community. We will also work with our partners and the surrounding settled community to make sure that all views are heard throughout the planning process.”
Mike Hanrahan, Chief Executive

The permanent site will include pitches for permanent residents with utilities such as toilets, showers and power. It will require planning permission and we are currently preparing a planning application for 15 pitches, which will need to be completed by March 2015 as agreed with the HCA.

Who will live there?
The site will be for New Travellers rather than Romany or Irish Travellers. New Travellers originate mainly from the settled British population who started to form in the 1970’s. You may hear people referring to this group of people as ‘New Age Travellers’, but the correct term is now ‘New Travellers’.

There are different reasons why people choose this lifestyle. Some choose it because they believe it is better for the environment as they are using less of the world’s energy stocks, such as gas and oil. Some choose it because of social and financial pressures, but some just choose to live a different lifestyle to those of us who live in houses.

Many New Travellers are employed, self-employed or live a self-sufficient lifestyle so that they can provide for their own day-to-day needs. Quite often New Travellers will combine flexible paid work with the practical jobs they do to maintain their home.

Feedback and keeping you up-to-date
We will keep you up-to-date with this project and our other developments through our website. We always welcome feedback from all of our customers, potential customers and the public. If you would like to give us your feedback, please do so through our online contact form