Travellers and Unauthorised camping

Many Gypsy/Travellers in Highland prefer not to use the Council's camps, but set up camps on other pieces of land.  We have developed a protocol in line with Scottish Executive guidelines that we will follow when responding to unauthorised camping by Gypsy/Travellers.

We recognise and respect the fact that:

• People may wish to follow a travelling way of life.
• There should be no discrimination against Gypsy/Travellers because of their way of life and culture.
• Some services such as education and health may be difficult for Gypsy/Travellers to access.

Gypsy/Travellers, like other members of the community are responsible for:

• Looking after land that they use.
• Ensuring that they do not cause any fire risk or other risk (e.g. by parking too close together).
• Disposing of rubbish properly.
• Keeping animals tied up or under control at all times.
• Respecting the way of life of others.

The Council will not needlessly evict Gypsy/Travellers from land that we own. 
 
We will consider the following things before deciding whether to require an unauthorised camp to move:

• The number of vehicles in relation to the size of the area and how they are parked.
• The intended length of stay.
• Any exceptional needs, for example, health needs.
• Road safety.
• What the land is normally used for and any urgent need for it.
• Potential damage to the land.
• The effect on the local community.

We will make sure that people in the camp know what the decision is and the reasons for it. We will also provide information about services that are available.

You can see the current list of contacts for unauthorised camping  in each of the Council's operational areas under current documents, along with a flow chart of the steps taken to deal with this.  The full copy of the Gypsy/Traveller Partnership Guidelines for a Response to Unauthorised Camping is also in the current documets section.  This is currently under review.

For more information, please email: housingandproperty@highland.gov.uk