A/HRC/25/54/Add.2 sewage works. Many Gypsies and Travellers are caught between an insufficient supply of suitable accommodation on the one hand, and the insecurity of unauthorized encampments and developments on the other. They face a cycle of evictions, linked to violent and threatening behaviour. In order to avoid evictions or to gain access to services, many households reluctantly accept housing in buildings, which is culturally inadequate. They are, however, often housed in the most deprived estates and exposed to more direct and immediate hostility focused on their ethnicity or lifestyle.87 70. Under the Housing Act 2004, every local housing authority has an obligation to assess the needs of Gypsies and Travellers residing in their district. While the Localism Act 2011 in England abolished regional planning, such obligation remains in force. Additionally, there is a financial incentive to provide sites under the New Homes Bonus scheme (local authorities retain Council Tax for six years). On March 2012, the Government published the revised Planning Policy for Traveller Sites, to be read in conjunction with the National Planning Policy Framework. It calls on local authorities in England to identify land for sites; promote private Traveller site provision; ensure the reduction of the number of unauthorized developments and encampments, and increase the number of Traveller sites with planning permission. Concerns were expressed that local authorities, often acting under pressure from other residents who stigmatize this community, prefer to discharge their duties under homelessness legislation by offering Gypsies and Travellers bricks-and-mortar accommodation. If an individual refuses the offer, he or she is considered “intentionally homeless”. 71. The Special Rapporteur visited Dale Farm in Basildon District and met with some residents who were present during the October 2011 eviction, including children and adolescents. Images of the eviction, the forceful way in which it was conducted, and the destruction it provoked for the entire community were still vivid in their minds. The Special Rapporteur has been following this situation for years, including prior to the eviction, and has raised her concerns with the Government.88 However, some members of the community continue to live on the side road, without access to water or sanitation, which they had prior to the eviction, and are in a dire situation. B. North Belfast 72. The Special Rapporteur is mindful of the complexity of the housing situation in Northern Ireland, and more specifically in some areas of North Belfast. For decades, urban distribution of housing along religious lines and additional needs for space for expansion have been among the reasons for civic unrest. As one analyst notes: “The distribution of the population was tied into systems of political gerrymandering. Thus, political involvement in the allocation of housing inevitably led to discrimination and segregation. This provoked an important reaction in the 1960s: civil rights protesters conducted marches to highlight discrimination in Northern Ireland.”89 In order to address housing issues which were both a cause and a consequence of conflict, an independent institution — the Northern Ireland Housing Executive — was created in 1971 with the aim of ensuring a fair allocation of housing over sectarian divides. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive has formally committed to promoting shared communities and has made efforts in that direction; however, community tensions and physical barriers, including “peace walls”, persist. 87 88 89 18 Ibid. A/HRC/16/42/Add.1, paras. 65–69. Rooney and Dutschke, “Case study” (footnote 21).