Experience elsewhere…
The 12 pitch Gypsy site at Ridgewell (pictured) has been settled for around four to five years. It is managed by Patience, a live-on Gypsy who works for Essex County Council.
The Ridgewell site is attractive – so much so that people from the caravan club often pull in and ask for a pitch, believing it to be a holiday site! It has electric and water supplies, and recycling facilities for plastic, cardboard, paper and tin. Like Patience, some of the Gypsies at Ridgewell have jobs in the local area, and many send their children to the local school.
When the site was originally established, there was some conflict between the Gypsy and settled communities in Ridgewell due to a mutual lack of understanding of each other’s cultures. In Patience’s words, “there were a lot of bridges to build.”
Now, however, the site has a positive relationship with the local community. Villagers visit the Gypsies who live there, and children from both communities attend each other’s birthday parties. Some Gypsies' have had their children christened at the local church. The local neighbourhood watch, police, and parish council have good relations with the Gypsy community and are welcome to visit the site.
Patience believes that the key to the success of this site has been establishing understanding between the Gypsy and settled communities, something she describes as “a two way process”. Her role has been to mediate between the two groups, establishing trust and educating both about the other’s cultures and traditions.
Gypsies can face prejudice and hostility from the settled community, driven in part by negative media portrayal that focuses on conflict rather than cooperation. Meanwhile, in Gypsy communities, the freedom to travel is valued highly and settling can be viewed as “entrapment”. Gypsies see themselves as “born survivors” and don’t always recognise that they have the same needs as settled people, such as the need for health care when ill. The security of an authorised site has meant that Ridgewell’s Gypsies have come to appreciate, and have reliable access to, health and education services enjoyed by the settled community.
While work to integrate the Ridgewell site with the settled community is ongoing, Patience is optimistic that the two can live side by side: after all, “we’re all humans at the end of the day.”