Key Points
- Council Proposal and Local Opposition: Islington Council plans to create a new caravan pitch for Gypsy and Traveller families on the Aubert Court council estate, prompting strong local opposition and a petition.
- Community Backlash and Intimidation: Members of the Gypsy and Traveller community said they feel “intimidated” by what they describe as a co-ordinated and discriminatory campaign against the proposed site.
- Petition: The group Friends of Aubert Park has collected about 1,800 signatures, arguing that the development would take away scarce green space in the borough.
- Legal and Statutory Duties: Under the Housing Act 2004, Islington’s Labour-run council is legally required to identify and meet the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers, who currently have no permanent pitches in the borough.
- Consultation Timeline: The public consultation closed on Tuesday, August 18. The council is accepting late representations by email, post or online survey until September 1, before an independent Planning Inspector reviews the proposals.
London (Extra London News) August 24, 2026 — Members of the Gypsy and Traveller community have expressed that they feel deeply “intimidated” amidst a contentious public campaign opposing a newly proposed caravan pitch located in the heart of north London. As reported by Josef Steen, a Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reporter for The Standard, plans submitted for a residential pitch situated on an Islington council estate have sparked fierce pushback from local residents who are concerned about losing a valued local green area.
This escalating backlash has left community members distressed, with advocates and residents asserting that the localized opposition is not merely about land use, but is heavily co-ordinated and underpinned by discrimination. For many individuals within the Gypsy and Traveller communities, living in mobile caravans constitutes a fundamental, unyielding component of their cultural heritage and ethnic identity. Under the stipulations of the Housing Act 2004, the Labour-led local authority in Islington remains legally bound to locate and satisfy the accommodation requirements of Gypsies and Travellers—a task the council has historically struggled to address until a series of nine potential sites were formally brought forward in 2025.
Why are local residents opposing the Aubert Court caravan site?
As detailed by Josef Steen of The Standard, the latest planning proposals involve converting a minor patch of green space within the Aubert Court council estate into a formal residential pitch designated for community members already residing within local social housing or the immediate surrounding area. In response to this initiative, a localized community petition launched under the banner of ‘Friends of Aubert Park’ has rapidly accumulated approximately 1,800 signatures.
The petition argues that the designated site is fundamentally unsuitable given the acute scarcity of green spaces across the densely populated London borough. Highlighting their stance, the petition states:
“We support the need to provide suitable accommodation for Gypsy and Traveller families, but this should not come at the cost of one of Islington’s scarce parks. Once this space is gone, it is gone.”
How has the Gypsy and Traveller community responded to the backlash?
The resistance surrounding the proposal has provoked strong reactions from those advocating for the site and members of the Traveller population itself. Speaking directly to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), 58-year-old Traveller community member Lisa Casey claimed that estate caretakers on Aubert Court had actively warned local residents that the area would soon be
“overrun with Travellers and feral children”.
Challenging the narrative that the location is a public park, Lisa Casey stated:
“It’s not even a park. The land on Aubert Park is disused, you can only use it if you’re a resident. We’re taking a small portion of it. Why can’t we live within the community? We already exist. We’ve been here probably a lot longer than a lot of these residents… The council has got to get on top of this.”
Echoing these concerns, Mena Mongan from the advocacy group London Gypsies and Travellers stated that her organization had been approached by multiple local residents who concluded that the unfolding objections were being propelled by “pure discrimination”.
As reported by Josef Steen of The Standard, Ms Mongan expressed her frustration to the LDRS, noting: “I’m downhearted about all this. I’ve seen it far too often.” She further claimed that those opposing the scheme were generating profound opposition by “getting comments from every Tom, Dick and Harry” without reflecting on the human consequences.
“These people have nothing better to do with their money than playing with people’s lives,”
Ms Mongan added.
What broader societal attitudes and previous findings surround the issue?
Underlining the wider context of social friction, figures highlighted by YouGov reveal that nearly half—specifically 45 per cent—of the general population would feel “uncomfortable” with a Gypsy or Traveller individual moving in next door to them. This underlying tension has previously bled into administrative hurdles for the local authority. The LDRS previously reported that council officials were forced to excise several “discriminatory” remarks from an earlier consultation report concerning the roster of nine prospective sites.
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What is Islington Council’s official position on the consultation process?
Faced with competing pressures from housing regulators, advocacy organizations, and local petitioners, a spokesperson for Islington Council defended the local authority’s approach. The council representative stated: “Islington is proud of its diversity and committed to meeting the housing needs of all communities, including Gypsy and Traveller residents. This is extremely challenging in a high-density borough like Islington which has very limited land for development.”
Confirming the status of the administrative process, the council spokesperson noted that while the primary public consultation window officially closed on Tuesday, August 18, municipal authorities are continuing to accept late representations submitted via email, post, or online surveys up until September 1. Following the conclusion of this feedback window, the comprehensive proposals and associated public responses are scheduled to undergo an independent evaluation by a government Planning Inspector. Meanwhile, attempts by journalists and local reporting networks to secure additional commentary from the ‘Friends of Aubert Park’ campaign group remained unanswered at the time of publication.
