Travellers set up at Deeside sports complex - Flintshire

From the Leader

MEMBERS of a travelling community have set up camp at a leading sports complex.

Eleven caravans are parked on the rear car park of Deeside Leisure Centre on Chester Road West, Queensferry.

Flintshire Council’s deputy leader Bernie Attridge says the council is working towards removing the Travellers.

He said he had not personally received any complaints but said they could not stay.

“They’re on council land and we have applied for a warrant to evict them.” he said.

“We applied for one as soon as they moved in.

“The problem is they know their rights and we have to apply for a warrant because we’ve nowhere to direct them to.”

He said the police were reluctant to get involved unless an offence had taken place.

The caravans had been there for about three weeks, Cllr Attridge said, and so the warrant would arrive shortly.

But he said the issue with Travellers was a North Wales issue.

“Other North Wales authorities should take their responsibility as seriously as we do in Flintshire and Wrexham.

“We have about 95 per cent of the Traveller community in North Wales,” he said. “I don’t think that’s fair.”

Cllr Attridge said other councils should follow Flintshire Council’s “proactive” approach in looking to expand the Riverside Travellers’ transit site in Queensferry. A planning application would be submitted to expand the site later in the year
“It’s important other North Wales councils don’t bury their heads in the sand,” he said. “They’ve done that for far too long. You can’t just put them anywhere, and Flintshire and Wrexham have done more than their fair share.

“Denbighshire, Conwy, Gwynedd and Anglesey should be as proactive. They should be doing the same as us and spreading it across the whole area.”