Travellers leave council car park - Yorkshire

From the Mirfield Reporter

Travellers who have spent almost two weeks in council car parks in Dewsbury town centre have moved on.

A group of vans and caravans left Cliffe Street car park yesterday (Monday) just as court proceedings were about to begin.

The Travellers occupied the railway station car park for three days before moving on to Cliffe Street.

Kirklees has said previously that it has to chase Travellers through the courts as trespassers if it wants to get them evicted. If it issued parking tickets to the Travellers, that would authorise them staying in the car park and could prevent any eviction.

But at a Chamber of Trade meeting last night, members said council court orders did not go far enough as Travellers were simply able to move on to the next car park.

President Trish Makepeace said: “Why isn’t it for all the car parks in Dewsbury? Or why doesn’t it last for two years? There should be a blanket ban for all the car parks in Kirklees.”

Vice-president Andrew Hutchinson said that restricting access to the car parks with barriers would be the easiest and cheapest solution.

Mrs Makepeace added: “It’s all the time and money spent on tidying up after. It’s a deterrent to the public coming into the town.”

The chamber agreed to write to the council asking why tougher action was not taken against the Travellers.