Why do gypsies and travellers need permanent sites?
Although gypsies and travellers travel for some of the year, during the winter months most people need a place to stop. Travelling patterns are linked to the seasons and the work associated with the seasons. Gypsies and travellers do not travel on a daily basis all year round. Families require safe and secure places from which to do their travelling. The ‘base site’ (if they have one) will usually be where they can access a doctor, schools, a dentists etc. As gypsies and travellers grow older and become less able to travel on a regular basis, some require a safe and secure stopping place where they can maintain the cultural traditions of being a gypsy or traveller. Gypsies and travellers also sometimes stop travelling for periods of time to care for sick or elderly relatives or to continue a child’s education within a supportive school environment. Families will then take up the travelling way of life again following these critical events.
