Guidance for designing Gypsy and Traveller sites - Chapter 5: site safety

This Chapter outlines the responsibilities of the local authorities to ensure their sites are fit for purpose and conform to health and safety standards. It also deals with protecting residents from crime and ensuring fire safety on sites.

It is the responsibility of the local authority and site manager to ensure a risk assessment of the site is regularly undertaken, including a specific fire risk assessment. All equipment provided by the local authority must conform to relevant standards and be regularly inspected by a competent person. Site managers must keep records of all testing undertaken and inspections should be completed yearly. Site managers must ensure that every care is taken to protect any equipment provided from the elements if stored outside, for example via suitable casing.

All buildings provided on the site by the local authority must comply with relevant mobility standards and where applicable with the requirements of the Building Regulations 2010 and other relevant legislation.

Local authorities must balance the need for residents, particularly children and young people, to feel safe and secure on site without feeling isolated or imprisoned. Any new site design should aim to safeguard residents are much as practicable without being oppressive. Tall metal fences should be avoided.

Local authorities may also find it helpful to discuss their plans with the local police force to ensure they conform to Secured by Design principles and that security and crime issues are understood and addressed from the outset.

The inclusion of CCTV in site design should be considered as part of a broader approach to promoting safety, security, and wellbeing for all residents. Its use should be proportionate, respectful of privacy, and aligned with principles of equality and non-discrimination. Engagement with site residents during the planning and implementation stages is essential to ensure that any measures taken are appropriate, transparent, and supportive of community trust.

When designing local authority sites, local authorities are required to consult the local fire and rescue authority under section 56 of the Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013.

Mobile homes must be situated in a way which will reduce the risk of fire spreading between buildings and structures on the pitch. The minimum distance between caravans should be 6 metres. As set out in the site management guidance, where that separation cannot be maintained, it will be necessary for residents to evacuate their caravans if a fire breaks out on the site. In such cases, pitches should be no more than 30 metres from a fire point. Fire points must be housed in a weatherproof structure, easily accessible and clearly marked ‘Fire Point’. Each fire point must have a method of raising the alarm in the event of a fire. This must be appropriate to the size and layout of the site and informed by consultation with the relevant fire and rescue authority.

Where the site extends for a significant distance from the nearest public road, fire hydrants must be provided on each site in consultation with the relevant fire and rescue authority. All equipment must conform to relevant British Standards.

Hydrants must conform to British Standard 750 and should be positioned so no caravan is more than 100m from a hydrant. It is important to ensure hydrants and other water supplies are easily accessible and are not obstructed or obscured. There is no need to provide hose reels or other firefighting equipment.

Notices outlining what action must be taken in the event of a fire or other emergency should be placed in prominent locations throughout the site. Where possible pictograms should be used to explain what must be done and what arrangements are in place in the event of a fire, including details of the assembly point.

Each local authority site must have protocols in place which are clearly laid out in a site management plan. Residents need to be made aware they have a responsibility to prevent fires occurring. All alarm systems provided by the local authority must be installed, tested and maintained in working order by a competent person. All equipment susceptible to frost must be suitably protected.

Maintenance and Testing of site fire alarms must be installed, tested and maintained in working order by qualified persons, not residents and be available for inspection by, or on behalf of, the licensing authority or the Fire and Rescue Authority. A record must be kept of all testing and remedial action taken.

The requirements of the relevant fire and rescue authority should be taken into account when storing Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and other flammable materials on the site. The storage of these materials should meet statutory requirements and measures should be put in place to prevent misuse.

Access to and around the site must allow easy access for fire appliances and ambulances.

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring they comply with the fire safety legislation in force at any given time. This principally means the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The site management guidance contains further detail on this.