SITES where gypsies and travellers can live came under the spotlight at two recent meetings of Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council.

The issue was raised - at meetings on October 10 and on Monday - as a result of the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) seeking the public's views on providing places to live for gypsies, travellers and travelling showpeople.

The assembly is due to complete public consultation on travellers' needs in the proposed South East Plan - the planning blueprint for the region until 2016, due to be adoped by the end of the year - by November 21.

SEERA wants to see how many camping spaces should be provided in each council area.

The main issue for comments was the proposed number of new spaces for gypsies, travellers and travelling showpeople in the South East. According to SEERA, by 2016 a total 1,064 new places will be needed for gypsies and travellers and up to 274 for showpeople.

The second issue is the number of spaces that should be provided in each council area. In Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, 100 spaces are deemed necessary for gypsies and travellers and 129 for showpeople.

Views are invited, from the public, on four possible options for allocated spaces in the response form. The councillors did not indicate their preferences at either meeting and, instead, decided to respond individually, rather than as a council, by returning the consultation forms.

Option A would provide new spaces in all council areas where gypsies and travellers live.

Option B would provide new spaces in the general areas where gypsies and travellers live.

Option C would provide half the new spaces in the general areas where they live, and the other half would be spread across the region to make sure that all areas provide some spaces.

Option D would provide most new spaces in the general area where gypsies and travellers live, with a quarter spread across the region to make sure that all areas provide some spaces.

Although Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council does not have a designated gypsy site, it has several gypsy families living in the parish.

In a matter unrelated to the South East Plan provision, Lylie Searle, of Five Oaks, Queens Road, has appealed to the Gover-nment's Planning Insp-ectorate against the council's imposition of conditions on the gypsy site he occupies.

Issues at the site date back more than 20 years. An appeal in 1988 allowed one or two gypsy caravans, with conditions that stipulated that one caravan was for a named person. In 1996 there was an outline application for two detached houses, which was refused, followed by an application in 2002 for a traditional dwelling, which was refused and a subsequent appeal dismissed.

East Hampshire District Council's south planning committee recently stated that the site should only be occupied by one gypsy family and their resident dependants. The site lies within a rural area where restrictive policies apply and the south planning committee wish to ensure the site remains available for one gypsy family and granted permission because the loss of this gypsy site is unacceptable, which would result if an unrestricted occupation of the land was granted.

At the last Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council planning meeting, on October 20, another application by Mr Lighy, a Romany gypsy, was discussed by the committee to permit a second mobile home and touring caravan to be stationed on the land at Greengates along the Longmoor Road.

Permission had been granted for one caravan, for one family to live there, and the second mobile home was for Mr Lighy's daughter and her husband to live in.

Councillors objected to the increase of mobile homes on the land as well as a touring caravan, as the siting of a second mobile home on a large area of land would encourage further subdivision of this area of agricultural land, adjacent to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Members of the gypsy family were present at the meeting but did not raise any questions.

n The South East Plan consultation form can be accessed at http://www.southeast-ra.gov.uk">www.southeast-ra.gov.uk. Information is available by calling 01483 555202. Responses must be in by November 21.