All of England’s 276 official Traveller sites are today mapped.
Our interactive tool, available to use below, shows the exact locations of all public sector Traveller sites in England, as well as the total number of pitches and the caravan capacity at each site.
Cottingley Springs, operated by Leeds City Council, was the biggest site in the country, with space for 120 caravans.
Thistlebrook Travellers Site (82), operated by Greenwich Council, and Paston Ridings (80), operated by Peterborough City Council, rounded out the top three.
At the other end of the scale, there are also 40 small sites with a capacity of fewer than 10 caravans.
Powered by official data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the map provides the most comprehensive view of the country’s sites.
However, the Government does not publish data on private pitches or unauthorised sites, meaning only those registered by local authorities and providers of social housing are visible.
The biggest site in the country was Cottingley Springs (pictured), operated by Leeds City Council, which has space for 120 caravans
The second-biggest site is Thistlebrook Travellers Site, which has capacity for 82 caravans and is operated by Greenwich Council
This means only 22 per cent of all Traveller caravans are visible on the map, as that is the proportion in social housing.
Not on the map are the 62 per cent on authorised private sites and 16 per cent on unauthorised sites.
Of the caravans on unauthorised sites, 87 per cent were on land owned by Gypsies or Travellers.
The remaining 13 per cent were on land owned by private landowners, such as farmers’ fields, or by public authorities, such as parks and cricket grounds.
Traveller communities have long campaigned for access to more publicly provided sites, arguing that the chronic national shortage means they might be waiting years to get a pitch, especially in the south.
It has been argued that this is why so many of them have to break planning rules and live on unauthorised sites.
Caravans on unauthorised sites have risen 24 per cent over the past three years, going from 3,602 in July 2023 to 4,464 in July 2025.
Over the past few years, there have been a slew of high-profile cases where Travellers have purchased land, often in leafy parts of the Home Counties, before swooping to lay tarmac and create pitches.
They have then sought planning permission retrospectively, forcing local authorities to remove them from an area already built over, in a frequently lengthy and costly process.
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The field before the Travellers paved it. The tactic of quickly paving over a field without planning permission was showcased last year near Warrington, Cheshire
The field after the Travellers paved it. The quick paving over of the field allows for a quick creation of an authorised site
It has caused such frustration for local communities in the past that the Conservative Party’s 2019 election manifesto promised to give police more powers to ‘tackle’ them.
Guidance also states that planning authorities must consider whether taking enforcement action against Travellers is in line with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The public is often concerned that a site will bring with it an uptick in crime, as evidenced by the fact that Travellers and Gypsies were significantly over-represented in prisons, according to a previous report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons.
There is also evidence that Gypsy and Traveller children are significantly over-represented in the youth justice system.
A House of Commons Library report from last year said the lack of accommodation contributes to many of the inequalities that Travellers experience, and ‘can be a source of tension between travelling and settled communities’.
A separate 2022 research project, commissioned by the Office for National Statistics, described Travellers staying in laybys or car parks, sometimes for several years at a time, because of an inability to access space on a permanent Traveller site.
Several studies have raised concerns about the issue, citing sites being established on poor-quality land, such as under motorways or next to sewage works.
There have also been reports of sites being contaminated by vermin and failing fire safety checks.
Even those living on Traveller sites report poor living conditions, such as isolated locations, a lack of basic amenities such as showers and toilets, and overcrowding.
Gypsies and Irish Travellers are over three times more likely to live in overcrowded accommodation than the general population (27 per cent compared with 8 per cent), according to the 2021 Census.
Their communities also rely on social housing at more than twice the average rate (44 per cent), compared with all ethnic groups (17 per cent).
But in recent years, the number of caravans on private sites has grown steadily, first surpassing the number on public sites in 2008.
As of July 2025, caravans on private sites made up 74 per cent of caravans on all authorised sites, compared to 32 per cent in July 1983.
The lack of caravan pitches has also been cited as the reason for greater numbers of Gypsies and Travellers now choosing to live in conventional brick-and-mortar accommodation.
The 2021 Census showed there are 71,440 Gypsy or Irish Travellers in England and Wales – representing 0.12 per cent of the population.
Of this number, 78 per cent lived in brick-and-mortar accommodation, while 22 per cent lived in a caravan or other mobile or temporary structure.
The term ‘Gypsies and Travellers’ is difficult to define as it does not constitute a single, homogenous group, but encompasses a range of groups with different histories, cultures and beliefs, including: Romany Gypsies, Welsh Gypsies, Scottish Gypsy Travellers and Irish Travellers.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government made clear it is the responsibility of local authorities to meet the need for Gypsy and Traveller sites in their area, the same as other housing.
It argues that local authorities should deliver suitable accommodation for travellers, address under-provision, and reduce the number of unauthorised developments.
The Government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework that includes clearer, ‘rules-based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making.
This includes proposals relating to how authorities should assess and plan to meet the need for traveller sites, and a strengthened approach to intentional unauthorised development.
