Tag: Gypsies & Travellers

We appreciate that London is in a housing crisis. The new London Plan will be an opportunity to address this crisis, and Londoners are now invited to give their views on how to make the best of this opportunity. But for some Londoners, there is a crisis-within-the-crisis. Many Gypsies, Roma and Travellers have been excluded from Sadiq Khan’s vision of a thriving, diverse London. We already know that our communities’ children are among the most likely to experience homelessness and environmental racism, nevertheless the latest London-wide assessment of accommodation needs drastically undercounts the needs of members of these ethnic groups. For us, is the London Plan an opportunity that has never really come up enough to even be missed, perhaps?

A few of London’s local authorities, despite budgetary constraints, are addressing the homelessness and unsuitable housing issues that have disproportionately hit Gypsies, Roma and Travellers. Discrimination and inadequate accommodation, amongst many complex factors, have caused a mental health catastrophe and a socio-economic crisis in these often-overlooked communities. Finally, we are cautiously optimistic that in a few small patches of the capital – in Lewisham, Camden, Ealing, Enfield, and Islington – local plans are finally making space for Gypsies and Travellers. The London Plan could stitch the patches together into a beautiful quilt, if only it rose to the opportunity.

For press inquiries, please contact: media@londongandt.org.uk, info@romasupportgroup.org.uk

Representative organisations for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers beyond London have issued the following open letter to the Greater London Authority and particularly to the Mayor of London:

The final report of the London Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment (GTANA) 2025 was published on Friday 28 November 2025. It provides the evidential base for meeting housing needs of Romany Gypsies, European Roma, Irish and Scottish Travellers, and travelling showpeople for the next ten years. The quality of this evidence is relevant to all those who care about inclusive planning and housing, especially in the context of preparing the next London Plan.

Community representatives and experts on the London GTANA 2025 “steering group” have raised serious concerns about the methodology and accuracy of the research since the GLA-funded project started in 2022. These are their main concerns:

· The Census figures used for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller populations of London are known undercounts.

· The identified housing need arising from overcrowding in Roma households does not reflect the most up-to-date information.

· Most of Gypsies and Travellers’ cultural right and expressed preference to move out of standard housing and into communal sites is discounted.

The consequence of these problems, the organisations maintain, is a reduced measure of housing need, compounding the crisis-within-the-housing-crisis that these socially excluded communities are facing.

The Introduction chapter of the GTANA 2025 notes that “some individual members of the GTANA Steering Group do not necessarily endorse all aspects of the methodology or GTANA findings.” London Gypsies and Travellers, Roma Support Group, and Southwark Travellers Action Group have clarified that they are explicitly objecting to the methodology and the findings.

Policy needs to be based on solid evidence to stand up to scrutiny. Community engagement needs to be meaningful to enhance trust in decision-makers’ ability to listen to marginalised voices. Evidence and engagement are pillars of good governance.

As community-based, human rights, planning and housing organisations and professionals, we are in solidarity with our Gypsy, Roma and Traveller allies. We are asking you to act on their recommended corrections and requests.

We ask the GLA to:

· Heed community representatives and experts regarding the London GTANA 2025;

· Deliver a London Plan that works for all Londoners without discrimination.

We collectively stand for an inclusive vision of London which accommodates and celebrates its diversity. We remain hopeful that we can work together with our allies and the GLA to achieve this.

Signed by