Measures introduced to stop Travellers setting up camp in Burnley this weekend - Lancashire

From This Is Lancashire

UNPRECEDENTED measures are being introduced this weekend to prevent Travellers who have set up camp on a recreation ground moving to other sites.

Around 30 caravans and vehicles arrived on Hargher Clough Rec, Burnley at 10.30pm on Wednesday.

Burnley council said they are set to implement a ‘short-term measures to secure a number of council-owned sites’ to prevent the group simply moving from one location in the town to another.

The prevention plans will mean two public car parks in Towneley Park will be closed to vehicles over the weekend.

Mick Cartledge, Burnley Council’s director of community services, said: “We are undertaking legal action to evict the Travellers on Monday.

“However, past experience tells us that unfortunately Travellers tend to move off a site over a weekend and set up on another piece of land elsewhere in the borough.

“We’ve taken a number of short-term measures to secure a number of council owned sites.

“This means that both the Riverside and nine-hole car parks at Towneley won’t be available to the public for a short time.

“We realise this will cause some inconvenience but we feel it’s important to try and keep these sites secure to avoid longer-term disruption if Travellers were allowed to set up home on them.”

The land occupied by the Travellers currently includes a play area used by youngsters.

Mr Cartledge added: “The sad fact is that it’s very difficult to make sites absolutely secure, particularly when people are willing to use angle grinders and other equipment to force entry, but the council is doing all it can to secure its sites to prevent Travellers getting onto them.

“We took this approach at Hargher Clough where we did all we could to keep the recreation ground secure. The gates to the car park were padlocked but these were cut off.”