Southwark Council provides four travelers sites. Sadly not enough traveller sites exist across England.

Labour Southwark has decided to increase the rights of travellers for pitches at those sites. First they’re guaranteeing that fees will never rise by more than inflation. So in real terms the fees will go down with time. It also means the fees are unlikely to cover the costs of providing these sites long-term maintenance. They’ve also decided to give infinite successor rights. Child of the children of the children, etc, etc, etc of current travellers to live on a specific Southwark pitch for ever.

Weirdly this is the interpretation of part of the 2008 Housing Act that the last Labour government introduced with provisions coming into affect April 2011. Even in that act it only states succession not limited to one. So Southwark Labour could have stated two which would be amazingly generous not being based on need. For council housing successor rights are limited to one. I don’t understand why mainstream council housing tenants have fewer rights than traveller pitches which are another form of social housing.

Fortunately the decision has been called in to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee by Lib Dem members.