The court asked whether a traditional gypsy who had lived permanently on a site for a long time, was a gypsy within section 16 and entitled to be excepted from local planning policy restraint on development.
Held: The criterion ‘nomadic way of life’ leads to a certain ambiguity, especially in relation to gypsies who settle for lengthy periods on authorised sites. Many gypsies, in the ethnic sense settle sometimes for several years. It may not be easy to determine whether they have lost their status as gypsies for the purpose of the relevant legislation. There must come a time when as matter of fact the nomadic habit of life has been lost. When it is lost the gypsy is no longer a gypsy for the purposes of the Act. He remains a gypsy by descent, by culture and by tradition, but that is not the issue. The question is whether he is a gypsy for the purposes of the relevant Acts.
Judges:
McCullough J
Citations:
Unreported 13 October 1989, Independent 31-Oct-1989
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Wrexham County Borough v The National Assembly of Wales, Michael Berry, Florence Berry CA 19-Jun-2003
A traditional gypsy family had settled because of ill health, and sought to establish a caravan site. The authority claimed they were no longer to be treated as Gypsy and having the entitlement under the Act.
Held: The Act defined ‘Gypsies’ as . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Planning
Updated: 08 July 2022; Ref: scu.184235