Travellers set up camp next to Barnwood dual carriageway - Gloucestershire

From the Citizen

TRAVELLERS on land off Corinium Avenue in Barnwood say they will leave by the end of the week.

It is not clear when they arrived, but half a dozen caravans and a handful of vans are currently parked up on grassland off the dual carriageway, near the entrance to Unilever.

Gloucester city councillor Lise Noakes (Con, Barnwood) believes they arrived a week ago as she learned of their presence before her holiday.

She said: "I have been away and I was told they were there beforehand so they must have been there for a week.

"I think it is the same group who arrive there every year and to be fair, we have never received a complaint about them.

"They usually only stay for a few days, using it as a stopover I think, and then move on.

"In the past they have always left the site really clean and tidy."

Despite this, councillor Noakes will still be taking the matter higher.

"I will be informing Gloucestershire Highways about their presence," she added.

"Although we haven't had complaints about them, we don't want Travellers there so the proper proceedings should be started to remove them."

Councillor Phil McLellan (Lib Dem, Barnwood) spoke to the group yesterday and they have assured him their stay will only be a short one. "They told me they would be leaving by the end of the week," he said.

"I'm not sure if they have been there for a week, I hadn't heard that if that is the case.

"I think they probably arrived on the weekend as they often do.

"They are regular visitors, but we don't want to have Travellers here so I will be contacting Highways to get them removed as soon as possible. They should be staying on a designated Traveller site, not on the side of the road."

No one from the group wished to make a comment when approached by The Citizen.