Felixstowe: Travellers back again on seafront car park - Suffolk

From the Ipswich Star

AFTER a summer plagued with problems of Travellers, a new group has set up camp on a Felixstowe car park.

Eight caravans and an assortment of around 20 vans, trucks and cars have moved onto the Manor Terrace car park.

The group have event set up outdoor eating areas, and a group of children were seen digging on nearby Landguard Common.

After the car park at Landguard was used by the travelling community in August, Suffolk Coastal said it would carry out a security review and taking action to prevent similar incidents.

Car parks at the resort originally had a mixture of earth bunds and height barriers, sometimes both, to prevent them being used illegally.

The height barriers though were removed because of problems with access for legally parked camper vans, large 4x4s and even the council’s own dustcarts.

A spokesman for Suffolk Coastal council said the authority was continuing to monitor the situation with the Travellers and will take legal action if necessary.

“A meeting is due to be held to discuss what can be done in the future to prevent such illegal camping, but clearly putting height barriers in would prevent those with motor homes or other large vehicles gaining access, and at the moment this car park is one which motor homes are allowed to use,” he said.

“We are sorry about any inconvenience caused by the presence of the Travellers on the site and the council will try to resolve this issue as soon as it can.”

In the summer Travellers parked on the south seafront site shortly before Bloor Homes began the £25 million homes and maritime park development, and then a second group moved onto the Garrison Lane car park and then moved to Manor Terrace.