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Section 4: Unauthorised Stopping Places and the 'Right to Roam'
Introduction
4.1 Much has been said about the 'right to roam' and much research has been carried out in an attempt to prove that this 'right' has been denied. Similarly, like many such claims much has been said about the restriction of the right but no clear definition has ever been given of what it is. A right is granted by legislation and there has never been legislation to this effect.
4.2 A Travellers perspective on the 'right to roam' is that it is 'a loaded phrase with no meaning'. Travellers have never had the 'right to roam'. Indeed, Travellers did not 'roam', they had a tradition of travelling. This was usually a planned journey visiting areas regularly, staying briefly, with a foreknowledge of their ability to earn a living by offering their very much required services or selling their wares. Travellers usually stayed unobtrusively on open land on the outskirts of urban areas or on the land of the local farmer for whom they were working, then moved on.
4.3 In the past when the pace of life was much slower and the volume of traffic on the open road was minimal, Travellers did indeed appear to have the 'freedom of the road'. They could pull off the road, stay overnight and move on the next morning without interference. Many aspects of life have changed in the Traveller community over the years just as they have in the settled community. The pace of life has changed dramatically. The volume and speed of modern day traffic prohibits Travellers from camping overnight at the side of the road, to do so would be to the endangerment of their lives, their children's, and their animals'. Land, even apparent wasteland, is at a premium throughout this country and is in defined ownership with no wish for any unwelcome or unauthorised visitors. Together with the downturn in employment for Travellers within the farming industry, the reality is that there are now less places for Travellers to stay. That is a harsh reality of modern life.
4.4 Within a society whose entire legal system is based upon the ownership of heritable property, it is obvious that the right of any individual to stay wherever they please is compromised. Realistically, the requirement is for Travellers to be able to access available places to stay within any part of Scotland without the fear of harassment and discrimination. This is very different from a right to stay wherever and whenever one so wishes.
Realities of Freedom of Movement and Places to Stay
4.5 Five main types of places to stay are used by Travellers. These may be summarised as:
- living in a caravan on a local authority site for Travellers;
- living in a caravan on a privately owned site which is run by or accepts Travellers;
- living in a house which they own;
- living in a rented house (public/private sector);
- living on an unauthorised 'roadside' site.
In practice the pattern of Traveller life throughout a year may involve a combination of these scenarios.
4.6 A number of factors have governed changes in patterns of movement over the past thirty or forty years. These include the following:
- less demand for rural activities/occupations;
- increasing urbanisation of present day Traveller activities;
- more rigorous control of land use (planning/environmental/landowners);
- increasing urbanisation and sub-urbanisation;
- increasing expectations by both Travellers and the settled community;
- increased mobility for many Travellers with more modern vehicles enabling longer distance movement from a settled base in pursuit of work.
4.7 These factors have led to restrictions in freedom of movement with the following effects:
- concentration of Travellers in larger groups on a smaller range of places;
- less opportunity for the traditional pattern of moving away to avoid trouble, whether between a Traveller and settled community/local authority, or between Travellers themselves;
....while other factors include:
- increased economic and social polarisation within the Traveller community;
- reduced self sufficiency and increased 'benefit dependency' among sections of the Traveller community.
4.8 A two-sided commitment is required if Travellers are to be able to continue to follow their patterns of movement, either in search of work or as part of traditional seasonal travelling and to retain flexibility of stopping throughout Scotland. It will only be viable provided that on the one hand there is an adequate network of different kinds of stopping place which caters for the needs of the variety within the Traveller population. This means a mix of....
- larger and smaller public sector provision, mainly meeting the needs of those Travellers who wish to become more static;
- large and small privately owned sites - these will only be provided if landowners can get the necessary planning permissions and greater encouragement, in return for which they will seek to maintain adequate management of their sites;
- short stay provision either by local authorities and/or private owners.
In return, Travellers have to be prepared to recognise that land-owners, whether private or public, also have rights not to be disturbed or have their property used against their wishes.
4.9 The overall implications of this for Travellers may be summed up as follows:
- travellers have the right to somewhere to stay but not rights to stay everywhere;
- travellers have a right to be able to stay in different places from time to time but not to stay in all of them all of the time;
- travellers have a right to be equal but not more equal;
- if Travellers have equal rights they also bear equal responsibilities .
4.10 The Committee therefore feels that the emphasis should be clearly placed upon Travellers rights in terms of Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights which enshrines the right to enjoy any other convention rights and freedoms without discrimination. No one should be turned away from camping or residential sites merely because they are a Traveller. The facilities on any site, local authority or privately owned, should be available to the Traveller to enjoy in the same way as any other member of society.
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