Havering Could Be Asked to Provide 73 New Traveller Pitches Under Mayor of London’s Draft Plan.

19th August 202619th August 2026 Francesca Lilleystone 0 Comments Havering, London Draft Plan, Travellers min read

Havering could be asked to plan for 73 additional permanent Gypsy and Traveller pitches under proposals contained in the Mayor of London’s new Draft London Plan. But the figure does not mean 73 new sites have been approved — and no locations have been announced.

Havering is facing another significant planning question after the Mayor of London’s new Draft London Plan proposed a minimum target of 73 additional permanent Gypsy and Traveller pitches for the borough.

The proposed target covers the period from 2027/28 to 2036/37 in the Draft London Plan.

If adopted in its current form, Havering would have one of the highest proposed targets in London.

Only Bromley, with 77 pitches, has a higher figure.

Across London, the Draft London Plan proposes minimum targets for additional permanent pitches because the Greater London Authority says previous delivery has been slow and there is identified accommodation need.

But there is an important distinction.

These are planning targets, not approved developments.

There are currently no 73 locations identified in the Draft London Plan where pitches will be built.

Nor does the document state that Havering’s pitches must be located on Green Belt land.

What does the 73 figure actually mean?

The figure is supported by the Greater London Authority’s London Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment.

The assessment looked at accommodation requirements across London and calculated a total need of 876 additional permanent Gypsy and Traveller pitches between 2022/23 and 2031/32.

For Havering, the assessment calculated a total of 73 pitches, comprising 45 during the first five-year period and 28 during the second.

However, because Havering is one of six London boroughs where the assessment incorporated existing local Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment and Local Plan evidence, an alternative figure is also shown.

Using only the existing local evidence for those boroughs would produce a figure of 58 pitches for Havering.

The GLA’s published table therefore records Havering as:

73 pitches — or 58 using the borough’s existing local evidence.

The Draft London Plan nevertheless proposes 73 as Havering’s minimum target.

So where could they go?

That is the question many residents are likely to ask.

At this stage, there is no published list of 73 sites for Havering.

The Draft London Plan sets out ways boroughs should look for opportunities to provide additional accommodation.

These include considering capacity within or next to existing sites, suitable temporary sites that could potentially receive permanent permission, and opportunities to provide pitches alongside large-scale residential or mixed-use development where appropriate.

The policy also says boroughs should identify opportunities to improve or refurbish existing provision.

That means the 73 figure should not be interpreted as 73 separate developments.

A pitch is the accommodation unit within a Gypsy and Traveller site.

One site can contain multiple pitches.

Could Green Belt land be used?

This is likely to be one of the biggest questions for Havering given the amount of Green Belt in the borough.

However, it is important not to jump from the proposed 73-pitch target to the conclusion that Green Belt land will be used.

The Draft London Plan does not allocate Havering’s 73 pitches to Green Belt sites.

Any future proposal would still need to go through the appropriate planning process and be assessed against national, London and local planning policies.

The fact that a target exists therefore does not mean that permission has been granted for development on any particular site.

Havering already has existing provision

The GLA’s assessment also provides some interesting information about the borough’s existing position.

The assessment recorded 107 caravans on unauthorised developments in Havering in 2022, making it one of the boroughs with the largest number recorded in London at that time.

The assessment also recorded 32 caravans on unauthorised developments in Havering when calculating London’s need for transit provision.

It is important to stress that these are figures from the assessment period and should not be treated as a current count of sites or caravans in the borough today.

The assessment found that London had a shortage of transit provision and calculated a London-wide need for 87 transit pitches.

Again, that is a London-wide figure and does not mean Havering has been allocated 87 pitches.

What about Travelling Showpeople?

There is also a separate category for Travelling Showpeople.

The GLA’s assessment records five authorised Travelling Showpeople plots in Havering.

The London-wide assessment identified a need for additional Travelling Showpeople plots, but this is separate from the 73 Gypsy and Traveller pitch target.

It is therefore important not to combine the two figures when reporting the story.

Why is Havering’s figure so high?

Havering’s proposed figure of 73 is among the highest in London.

The Draft London Plan gives:

Bromley — 77

Havering — 73

Brent — 55

Greenwich — 53

Kingston — 52

Hillingdon — 49

The London-wide target is substantially higher.

The GLA says the targets have been introduced because there is identified accommodation need and because delivery of new pitches has historically been slow.

The underlying assessment says the need can arise from a number of factors, including overcrowding, new household formation and households living in bricks-and-mortar accommodation who have a cultural preference for living on a pitch.

This is not 73 new developments

It is worth making this absolutely clear.

Havering has not been told that 73 new traveller sites are being built.

There is no published planning permission for 73 new sites.

There is no list of 73 locations.

And there is no statement in the Draft London Plan saying that 73 pitches must be built on Havering’s Green Belt.

Instead, the borough is being given a proposed minimum planning target for additional permanent pitches.

The locations and the way in which the borough meets any final requirement would have to be addressed through the planning system.

What happens next?

The Draft London Plan is currently part of the consultation and examination process and is not yet the final London Plan.

The proposed target could therefore be subject to change before the plan is eventually adopted.

But if the policy remains substantially unchanged, Havering will need to consider how it can meet the proposed target through its planning framework.

That raises some important questions for residents.

Where could additional pitches realistically be provided?

Can existing sites accommodate some of the requirement?

Could pitches form part of larger developments?

Will any potential sites be located close to existing communities?

And will any Green Belt land be considered in the future?

At present, the published documents do not provide answers to all of those questions.

What they do provide is a proposed number.

73.

And with Havering already facing significant pressure for housing, infrastructure and development, the question of where — and how — that accommodation need will be met is likely to become another important part of the borough’s planning debate.

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