Fairness for Travellers has 'gone too far' - Devon

From the Plymouth Herald

A BUSINESS leader has given a passionate speech to council chiefs urging them to be fair to residents and Travellers when dealing with encampments.

Plymouth City Council is in the process of reviewing how it deals with unauthorised Gypsy and Traveller sites across the city.

At the first of three meetings earlier this week, Charles Howeson, chair of Plymouth Area Business Council and Seaton Area Residents Association, gave councillors his thoughts on the issue.

Mr Howeson was invited to speak at the scrutiny panel after writing a letter to councillors and officers on the subject.

He said: "I'd like to open by saying that I've been a citizen of Plymouth since I was 17.

"I'm very broad minded, not at all political and I like our city's reputation for being fair and hospitable to all."

However, he said he is concerned that in the city's quest to be fair, we have gone "too far".

He said: "We are more fair to Travellers than the residents paying their council tax."

Mr Howeson went on to say that any residents would expect to feel the full force of the law for fly tipping or parking on pavements, but he said Travellers appear to face no such consequences.

He explained: "If you were to go into someone's fenced area and you were to fly tip in a field where there is livestock – you would be transgressing the law.

"The law is not being enforced, imposed or policed fairly."

And he said that communities are forced to take matters in to their own hands when it comes to cleaning up the mess left behind by Travellers.

He said: "Last year, 11 sacks of needles and nappies in fields off Seaton View were collected by the local community on a Sunday.

"So the behaviour of some Travellers is disruptive to peace and coherence.

"If that's the net effect of a community on the move to a community which is static and hosting them – willingly or unwillingly – it will create a stress in our city. I believe it's increasing."

Two further meetings will hear from representatives of the police and the travelling community.

Councillors are then expected to make recommendations on how the cancel deals with Gypsies and Travellers.

The review was sparked after Travellers, with about 30 caravans, caused difficulties for people living around Horsham Fields including Plymstock Albion Oaks rugby club, which was forced to rearrange a charity match in aid of a paralysed former player.

Ahead of Mr Howeson's speech, Pete Aley, the council's head of safer communities, made a presentation to the councillors.

He said: "This is quite a challenging area of work – it's highly controversial in many ways.

"I'm not saying we get it right all the time – but it's one of these things where you'll never please all the people all the time.

"The response we get is mixed – the Gypsy Traveller community is not all the same and the residents' community is not all the same.

"Getting the message out there is important. Any legitimate Gypsies who want to use our authorised site are welcome here – if you don't, you're not."

Mr Aley explained that the council can adopt a range of civil and criminal powers to close down unauthorised camps, as well using opportunities to negotiate.

But he added every case is assessed on its own merits and it can take several weeks to move them on.