Improving Gypsy/Traveller sites: progress summary

Maintenance & Repairs

There should be regular, planned, maintenance of the site and its facilities. This should include maintenance of shared areas, amenity blocks, and hard standings. On-going maintenance should be a normal part of the service site tenants receive in return for the pitch fees they pay. Unused pitches should be kept clean and tidy, to create a more pleasant living environment for site tenants. Caravans that are clearly abandoned should be removed from a site.

There are three indicators to assess whether this standard is being met. The self-assessments showed that five sites failed this standard on one or more indicator – Collin and Glenluce in Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, and Inverness and Newtonmore in Highland. Dumfries and Galloway was the only provider to report not meeting Indicator 1 in relation to reporting and carrying out repairs and told us this would be addressed by June 2018. However, residents at a further six sites described issues with the repairs service. Three sites reported issues with drainage on the site – Collin in Dumfries and Galloway and Highland and Newtonmore. Work to address this will have been completed on the Newtonmore site by June 2018, on the other two sites this is unlikely to be the case. Residents on a further eight sites reported problems with drainage on their sites. Three sites report not meeting the indicator relating to maintenance of common areas – Collin in Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian and Newtonmore in Highland. Work on the Newtonmore site will have been completed by June 2018. Residents at a further six sites reported issues with the maintenance of the common areas of their site.

Indicator 1 – Repairs are carried out in line with timescales set locally for repairs for social housing tenants

• Site tenants should be given information on how to report a repair, and the timescales within which a repair should be carried out. Site tenants, along with other service users, should be consulted about the timescales for repairs.

All site providers except one report currently meeting this indicator. Dumfries and Galloway Council told us that repairs are carried out and are prioritised depending on the problem arising. These are carried out within Council timescales dependent on urgency as assessed by the repairs team. No repairs information is supplied to the tenants at this time. The Council stated that this will be developed so all tenants are aware of the standards they can expect and also how to report repairs.

Some residents at the sites in Angus, Dumfries & Galloway, Edinburgh, Tarvitmill in Fife and West Dunbartonshire told us that they did not know how long repairs should take and when they reported repairs they were not completed quickly. While one resident at the Dundee site knew how long a repair should take they said that repairs were not always completed within that timeframe. Some residents at the North Ayrshire site did not know how long repairs should take but, apart from one, said that repairs were completed quickly.

Indicator 2 – There are adequate and good quality arrangements to allow rainwater to safely drain off the site

• This includes appropriate arrangements ( e.g. storm drains) to deal with heavy rainfall. There should be regular maintenance of drainage systems to ensure they are working properly.

According to the self-assessment returns, three sites are not currently meeting this indicator – Collin in Dumfries and Galloway and Inverness and Newtonmore in Highland. At the Collin site this is caused by the ground conditions and subsidence issues. Renovations are underway at the Newtonmore site to address this. At the Inverness site, the drainage issues relate to the entrance road and this is currently being looked at.

Residents at Angus, Collin and Glenluce in Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee, Edinburgh, Inverness in Highland, East Kilbride and Larkhall in South Lanarkshire, Tarvitmill in Fife and West Dunbartonshire told us that the drainage on their sites was not adequate.

Indicator 3 – Common parts of the site are kept in good condition, including any common areas, paths, roads and children's play parks

• A twice yearly informal inspection should be held of the site, to identify necessary maintenance and repairs.

Information from the site providers indicate that three sites do not meet this indicator – Collin in Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian and Newtonmore in Highland. Work is underway to address this at the Newtonmore site. East Lothian Council are trying to identify funding to improve the children's playpark on the site. The problems at the Collin site relate to the subsidence issues.

Some residents at the following sites did not agree that all common areas were kept in good condition – Angus, Edinburgh, Inverness in Highland, Larkhall in South Lanarkshire, North Ayrshire, Tarvitmill in Fife and West Dunbartonshire.