There are fairly low levels of BME residents (4.1%) in the Borough of Rushcliffe, however, the Strategic Housing and Private Sector Housing services aim to ensure that issues affecting BME households are addressed in all of our strategies and policies.
It is usually more difficult to find appropriate housing with access to relevant services in the rural Borough for people from ethnic minority groups. Offers of accommodation in the rural villages may not be considered to be suitable because of the additional risks of social isolation and, in extreme cases, racial harassment.
Rushcliffe is seeking to address these issues and, in 2004, a study of housing needs of BME households in the South Nottinghamshire area was conducted. Positive findings from the study indicate that in comparison with neighbouring areas, many BME residents in Rushcliffe commented favourably about the area in which they lived. Rushcliffe residents were also the most positive about access to BME facilities within their area - ‘Communities in Focus: A study of the housing and related needs of the Black and Minority Ethnic communities in South Nottinghamshire’.
Racial Harassment
It is never acceptable for anybody to be abused, harassed or attacked due to the nature of their skin colour, nationality, ethnic origin or cultural background. Rushcliffe Borough Council takes these incidents extremely seriously and if you find yourself in the situation where you no longer feel safe in your home you should contact the Police first and then the Housing Options Team for further advice on 0115 9148 326. You can also report a racist incident to the Council.
Gypsy and Travellers
Gypsies and travellers are a recognised ethnic minority group. There is currently a national shortage of authorised sites for gypsies and travellers with approximately one in four caravans on unauthorised sites. This has led to a growing tendency for gypsy and travellers to either buy land and develop it without planning permission, or to occupy land they do not own.
To try to address these issues the Government has now placed formal requirements on all Councils to assess the accommodation needs of gypsies and travellers in their areas. This assessment will determine what the need for new gypsy and traveller pitches are in each area and the individual councils will then be responsible for addressing these needs.
The gypsy and traveller accommodation needs assessment for all of the Nottinghamshire authorities, minus Bassetlaw, was published in May 2007. The assessment identified a need for an extra 119 pitches in the study area by 2011, with a need for 9 of these in Rushcliffe.
Interpretation
The Council can provide an interpretation service if needed and all of our strategies and policies can be translated into many different languages. For more information, please contact Customer Services.
