Bury St Edmunds: Meeting to be held over Travellers - Suffolk

From EADT24

A MULTI-AGENCY meeting is taking place today over Travellers who have moved into council-owned land near a residential area.

St Edmundsbury Borough Council found out earlier this week that 10 caravans had turned up at Layhill Covert in Moreton Hall, Bury St Edmunds, which is opposite the Ramada hotel in Symonds Road.

A spokeswoman for the borough council had said they were working with the police and Suffolk County Council’s Traveller welfare officer to clear the site as speedily as possible.

Today a meeting is taking place with representatives of the borough council, Bury St Edmunds Town Council, the county council and the police to address the issue.

A spokesman for Suffolk Police said it had been deemed necessary for them to meet to determine what the next course of action should be “and what the best possible outcome can be for the community as a whole”.

Speaking on Tuesday, Sergeant Davy Hill said: “Local officers are currently working closely with the travelling community and nearby residents in a proactive approach to prevent any potential community tension in the area.

“We will be liaising with St Edmundsbury Borough Council in the coming days as the site is examined and a decision is made regarding what is best for the community in the long-term.”

Travellers told the East Anglian Daily Times on Tuesday that they were only looking for somewhere to stay until Easter and had been keeping the land clean and were not causing problems for anybody.

Moreton Hall councillor Frank Warby, who will be attending the meeting, said he had received about 30 emails from residents asking what was going to be done about the situation.

“The public are not very happy up there,” he said.

Mike Bacon, chairman of the Moreton Hall Residents’ Association, said their main concern was over litter and nuisance, but “on the whole there hasn’t been very much”.

He said: “It happens to us about every three or four years and it doesn’t normally last very long. As long as we are all a bit sensible about it and don’t get stupid about it, and as long as it doesn’t take very long to clear away, we are okay.”