Gypsies and Travellers are part of North Norfolk life and always have been. Historically they have visited the District for work, recreation and pilgrimage.

North Norfolk District Council believes that in order to promote good community relations and to meet recent Government guidance, it needs to provide sites or stopping places for Gypsies and Travellers in the District.

The Council has looked at the historic patterns of movement of Gypsies and Travellers over the past ten years and has worked with other authorities in Norfolk, including the Norfolk Racial Equality Council, to establish the demand for Gypsy and Traveller facilities across the county. This work has established that there is no need to provide permanent facilities in North Norfolk but that short-stay transit sites should be provided in the Sheringham/Cromer and Fakenham areas, as part of the strategy for the future management of unauthorised sites.

A Gypsy and Traveller Consultation Forum was set up by the Council in 2006 to promote a greater understanding of the issues involved, particularly in those parts of the District with a history of unauthorised encampments. It included local councillors, businesses and the Police. The Forum considered a number of potential site options in the Cromer/Sheringham and Fakenham areas and concluded that the provision of transit site facilities should be progressed on two sites:

• One on land next to the District Council offices on Holt Road, Cromer
• The other to the south of the A148 Holt Road to the north-east of Fakenham, 300 metres east of thhe Clipbush Lane/Fakenham bypass roundabout

Leaflets containing further information regarding the proposals will be delivered to all homes in the Fakenham and Cromer areas, and residents will have an opportunity to comment on the proposals between now and 7 December 2007.

Further information can be obtained from links to the right.

Consultations with the public have been held and the Council expects to make planning applications for two Gypsy and Travellers Sites this year. The latest Consultation report March 2008 is available to view see the link in the download column on the right of this page.