Our work on Stable Way site

By Olivia Morrison, Head of Partnerships and Advocacy

Located directly underneath the A40 near Latimer Road, in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, is the Stable Way site. The site became a local authority site in 1976 but had been a stopping place for Romani (Gypsies) and Irish Travellers for centuries prior to this. The site has 19 pitches but is overcrowded and concerns have been raised around living conditions on the site.  

The Traveller Movement has been supporting families on the Stable Way site for decades. In 2024, we were approached to support the residents to reinstate the Stable Way Residents Association which had been running for several years but activity had ceased due the pandemic. Our Head of Partnerships and Advocacy supported the residents to renew their constitution and suggested that the residents form a Qualifying Residents Association, which is a specific type of Residents Association which applies to those living in a mobile home as a permanent home on a park home site, local-authority Traveller site or on a private Traveller site.  

Residents Associations that meet specific conditions are regarded as ‘Qualifying Residents’ Associations’ and must be recognised by the site owner – in this case, the local authority. This means that the site owner must consult the Qualifying Residents Association on proposed changes to operating and managing the site and any improvements to it that they intend to make. The site owner must also consult individual residents about any improvements to the site and any spending on improvements to the site that the owner wants to make. Ultimately, a Qualifying Residents Association provides site residents with consultation rights meaning that the site owner needs to consult residents on the rights set out above, by law. Under normal circumstances (i.e. with ordinary residents associations), a site owner can, if they want, discuss operating and managing the site with the residents association, but they do not have to by law.  

After 8 months of work, the Traveller Movement is pleased to announce that the local authority has acknowledged the Stable Way Residents Association as a Qualifying Residents Association, as of 21st February 2025.  

The Traveller Movement will continue to support the residents on Stable Way with any support they may need around the Association, and is looking forward to progressing with an upcoming project focused on living conditions on the site which the residents will have the opportunity to get involved in.