Clifton villagers call for action as new group of Travellers stay on green - Nottinghamshire

From the Nottingham Post

PEOPLE in Clifton village have called for more to be done to prevent Travellers parking on the green.

A group arrived on Friday afternoon and became the latest to set up camp.

When the Post approached them yesterday a Traveller, who did not want to be named, said: "We are only staying here a few days and then we'll be gone."

Councillor Ian Malcolm said he had received calls from residents.

He said: "I will be notifying the authority first thing today. The green has been used by the travelling community quite a lot recently.

"But we have to follow the right legal channels to get them removed from the land.

"This can take a while and I know some people find it frustrating, but it really is the quickest way of sorting this problem out."

A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "It's not fair, they just come here and set up camp whenever they want. People don't know what to say or do.

"We've had a real problem with the Travellers recently. We've had groups using the site for months."

Another neighbour said: "They need to police this kind of thing better and stop it before it happens."

Other groups of travellers have used the village green in the past few months.

In June, Nottingham City Council took legal action to remove a group, only for a second group to arrive, who did not leave until Sunday, August 5.

It can take the council up to two weeks to get a court order to have the travellers evicted.

Mr Malcolm said: "It does seem to be a recurring issue, but the best thing to do if you're concerned is to report it the local authority."

Yesterday there were four caravans on the green.