Labour 'is making it easier for travellers to set up new camps'

By MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR Published: 23:03, 17 August 2026 | Updated: 23:05, 17 August 2026 Labour has been accused of watering down standards for traveller sites and making it easier for new camps to be set up. In a major update to national planning laws, Angela Rayner's department removed a series of earlier proposals to limit the impact of the encampments. Concerns about 'long-distance travelling' and the 'potential environmental damage caused by unauthorised encampment' were deleted from the final version of the blueprint published on Monday. The new National Planning Policy Framework also omitted references in last year's draft version to 'minimising adverse impacts from local environmental factors (such as noise and air quality) on the health and wellbeing of travellers that may locate there'. Another sentence about making sure travellers and their sites are not 'isolated from the rest of the community' was also removed. The updated document also included a new suggestion that 'locations not well-related to existing settlements may be appropriate'. An accompanying report explaining changes to the framework following a public consultation stated: 'References to health and wellbeing impacts have been removed to ensure that traveller site proposals are considered consistently with other forms of development under the wider Framework, including in relation to policies on flood risk and environmental quality. 'A change has been made to address concerns that traveller sites may find it more difficult to gain permission under policy S5. This specifies that it may be appropriate for traveller sites to be in locations not well related to existing settlements.' Angela Rayner spoke to emergency responders who fought house-destroying fires on Monday Shadow Housing Secretary Sir James Cleverly – who fought an illegal traveller site in his Essex constituency – said: 'Andy Burnham is only weeks into the job and he is already u-turning on Labour's planning changes and making it easier for travellers to abuse the system. 'By watering down the rules, Labour are inviting travellers to set up unauthorised camps and simply get things rubber stamped by planning officers after the concrete has been poured. 'Local communities forced to tolerate lawbreaking from a small minority of travellers will be furious that Angela Rayner's department is trying to stop the authorities from combatting these underhand tactics.' It came just a day after the Tories vowed to crack down on illegal traveller sites if they return to power, by banning indefinite returns and ending retrospective planning approval. Town halls also warned that the new planning rules – which include a 'default yes' to developments around railway stations in England – will give local people less of a say. Cllr Andrew Husband, Housing and Planning Spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said: 'Our members believe that the updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will weaken theirs and their local communities' voices and shift the balance of power towards developers, increasing the risk of unsustainable development in locations that lack the necessary infrastructure and services.' However Housing Secretary Ms Rayner, who returned to her old job in Cabinet last month after quitting over her tax affairs last year, insisted: 'We do need the homes and we do need the infrastructure, but we want to do it in a planned way with local authorities and local people having a say in it.' She also claimed the Government is still on target to build 1.5million homes in five years. Asked during a visit to the West Midlands if she was confident of meeting the goal, she said: 'I don't like failure. I'm very clear that we need these homes. We have already seen nearly 400,000 since we came into office, new homes that have completed.' Earlier Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook had admitted the target is 'looking really tough' as he blamed the war in Iran for pushing up the price of construction materials.  A Labour spokesman said: 'The Tories left our planning system in a mess. Not only has this Labour government put in place incredibly strong safeguards for developments in the green belt, our planning changes have strengthened national policy on intentional unauthorised development.'