Council uses package of measures to tackle illegal traveller camps
Telford & Wrekin Council is putting together a package of short term and long term measures to address the issue of illegal gypsy and traveller encampments in the borough.
The council has a statutory responsibility to provide sites for gypsies and travelers and also wants to reduce the number of illegal encampments and lessen their impact on both residents and local businesses.
In response to this the council has developed a number of measures which include:
Acquiring land to create a council-managed tolerated site. The site which will not require planning permission should be ready for occupation by September at the latest.
The council is also extending the permanent traveller site at Lodge Road, Donnington by 2015 to create improved facilities as well as a number of new pitches. Traveller families from the tolerated site will be relocated to the permanent site when the extension has been completed.
The extension of the existing permanent site in Donnington will give the council the capacity to fulfil its legal obligations to existing local gypsy and traveller families on a longer term basis.
A working group will also be established, involving officers from across the council and the police to proactively manage unlawful gypsy and traveller encampments.
Telford & Wrekin Council will also seek to identify a third “transit” site for occupation by gypsy and traveller families visiting and passing through the area.
Councillor Charles Smith, cabinet lead for traveller sites, said: “Businesses and residents have been significantly and adversely affected by unlawful encampments by members of the gypsy and traveller community.
“We have a statutory duty to provide accommodation for them but this has been difficult because of a lack of available sites – much of the land in Telford is not under the council’s control.
“We have been involved in lengthy negotiations with the Homes and Communities Agency and we now have both a short and medium term plan.
“The tolerated site we are acquiring will significantly reduce the amount of illegal encampments, particularly at Stafford Park and Halesfield.
“We act as quickly as the law allows to move illegal encampments on but they tend to relocate to other sites elsewhere and so a more sustainable solution is required in tandem with preventative measures.”
