Residents may have to wait even longer to find out if sites near them will be set aside for gypsies and travellers.

Initial consultation on the plan, which will allocate permanent and transit sites for gypsies, travellers and travelling showpeople, was carried out in 2011.

The original timetable stated that the plan would be adopted by the end of 2016. But it still is not in place, and Dorset County Council has now admitted that Local Government Reorganisation could delay the process even further.

A spokesman for the authority stressed that they remain committed to the plan, which came about due to government guidance published in 2013 which aimed to improve the circumstances and outcomes for gypsies and travellers.

This included raising education attainment, improving health outcomes, encouraging appropriate site provision, tackling hate crime and improving knowledge of how gypsies and travellers engage with services.

Eight sites were shortlisted as potential areas in 2015, all in West Dorset, North Dorset and East Dorset.

One site, the former Army Camp off Mandeville Road in Wyke Regis, attracted the majority of objections, and a petition was also handed into authorities with more than 700 signatures.

A spokesman for Dorset County Council said: “The Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan Document is the responsibility of the district, borough and unitary authorities who have a statutory duty to prepare local plans for their areas. Dorset County Council is not the local planning authority in this instance but we do manage individual Traveller sites. In this capacity we have responded to each consultation stage in the plan’s preparation.

“While local government organisation may cause some delay to the final plan as the nine councils transition to two new authorities, our commitment to plan for the needs of the travelling community remains unaltered.”

The new unitary Dorset Council will come into being in April next year. Under the plans, there will be fewer councillors and it is also hoped the reorganisation will reduce overhead costs, potentially saving Dorset councils £28 million a year, which can be pumped into frontline services.

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Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers are legally recognised as ethnic groups, and protected by the Race Relations Act.

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