Designing with Communities in Motion

At WR-AP, we believe inclusive design is not an optional extra, it is fundamental to creating places where people can thrive. Our work with Haringey Council on two Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) sites in north London places us at the heart of a critical conversation: how can architects design for communities whose traditions are rooted in the adaptability of movement and interdependence?

Brookside Green - GRT proposal - Presented at Haringey Council consultation 2024

We are currently at the early design stages, with the ambition of submitting planning applications for both sites before the end of the year. This is not simply a design exercise, but an opportunity to reframe what GRT accommodation can look like in the 21st century.

Understanding the Challenge

The story of GRT accommodation in the UK is one of unmet need. The Modern Nomad community vision guide sets out the reality starkly as overcrowded, poorly maintained, and defensively designed sites disconnected from wider society and have left many families with little choice but to settle in unsuitable housing.

Click the above image for a link to The Modern Nomad Guide

In London, the picture is even starker. According to the London Gypsies and Travellers organisation, no new council-run Traveller sites have been built in the capital for over 20 years. As a result, many families face severe housing instability and isolation. The lack of provision has created a widening gap between community needs and the housing options available.

This makes our work in Haringey particularly significant. Alongside the council’s ambition to deliver new permanent pitches, these projects represent a rare and vital opportunity to set a new standard for inclusive, sustainable Traveller accommodation in London.

The lack of new accommodation goes beyond poor housing. It ripples through health, education, and employment. As Places We’re Proud Of notes, a lack of quality accommodation often translates into increased costs for public services from repeat evictions to rising demand on welfare and healthcare. Investing in well-designed sites is not just socially responsible, it is economically sound.

Click the above image for a link to The Places we're proud of

What Communities Are Asking For

Engagement with GRT communities consistently reveals the same aspirations:

·        Safe, flexible layouts that support large, multi-generational families;

• Green infrastructure and landscaping that create open, welcoming boundaries;

• Access to utilities, education, and health services;

• Opportunities for traditional livelihoods and crafts;

• Sustainability from renewable energy to biodiversity-rich landscapes.

These aspirations are strikingly consistent across research and practice. They reflect a demand for sites that are functional and culturally sensitive, dignified and future proofed.

Learning from Good Practice

There are, fortunately, examples to draw from outside London. Places We’re Proud Of presents case studies across the UK where local authorities and housing associations have delivered successful sites by embedding five key principles: strategic planning, quality design, clear policies, strong management, and meaningful collaboration.

At Greenfields Way in Weston-super-Mare, pitches of varying sizes allowed families of different scales to live side by side, mirroring the flexibility of mainstream housing. Accessibility was prioritised, recognising the higher proportion of residents with disabilities. Green roofs and solar panels helped the site blend with its surroundings while reducing energy costs.

Greenfields Way site

At Brooks Green near Norwich, homes were designed with attached kitchen and bathroom facilities under living green roofs. One resident commented: “Here we’ve got everything you would have in a house, except the bedrooms. Being here has massively improved life for the kids and for us all.”

And at Haldon Ridge in Devon, semi-detached utility rooms and a reed-bed foul water system set new standards for environmental sustainability and community wellbeing.

The use of good quality materials

These examples illustrate that when investment prioritises design quality GRT sites can be places of pride rather than compromise.

Designing Beyond Defensiveness

Too often, sites in the UK have been hidden behind high walls or squeezed into marginal land near industrial yards or motorways. This “out of sight, out of mind” approach fuels prejudice and creates unsafe, unhealthy living conditions.

The alternative and the path we are pursuing in Haringey is community-centred design:

• Scaled sites smaller, human-scale clusters of families rather than sprawling, unmanageable encampments.

• Integrated locations, connected to local transport, schools, and services, rather than isolated on the margins of towns.

This is not about romanticising nomadic culture or imposing a single vision. It is about designing with communities, creating environments that respect cultural traditions while offering security.

WR-AP’s Approach in Haringey

Our work with Haringey Council is grounded in these lessons and will be shaped by dialogue with community members and local partners. Our ambition is not only to meet immediate housing needs, but to reimagine what inclusive, sustainable GRT sites can be in an urban London context.

Haringey Council - Brookside Green consultation image from 2024

As we move forward in Haringey, we are committed to ensuring our designs do more than deliver pitches, they create places of pride to foster a sense of belonging.