Cost of cleaning up after Travellers close to 'six-figure' sum - Aberdeenshire

From STV

The cost of cleaning up after unauthorised Traveller sites in Aberdeen has spiralled to almost £100,000 in the space of four months, STV has learned.

Aberdeen City Council's ruling administration also admitted that the authority will be unable to introduce a by-law this year to clamp down on Travellers camping on unauthorised sites.

Council finance convener Willie Young said the council was close to spending "a six-figure sum" on clearing up rubbish left by Travellers at a number of sites since February.

He claimed this demonstrated the need for a new by-law, which would give the police powers to treat unauthorised camping as a crimininal, and not just a civil offence.

However, Mr Young also criticised what he described as the "complacent" and "unhelpful" attitude of the SNP and the Scottish Government towards the issue.

He said: "We are taking it [the by-law] to the full council in August to discuss the wording of it and, once that has been agreed, it will go to [Justice Secretary] Kenny McAskill.

"However, we realise this won't solve the problem this summer and we have to make sure we get it sorted out before the spring and summer of 2014.

"It is very frustrating because Aberdeen taxpayers are being hit by the behaviour of some of these Travellers, who are leaving rubbish behind, leaving asbestos behind, causing a variety of issues for residents, and generally making a mockery of the existing regulations.

"The SNP just seem to want to do nothing. But that isn't an option. If it's good enough [to have a by-law] for Loch Lomond, then it should be good enough for Aberdeen to have it enshrined in law that anybody who camps on an illegal site is committing a criminal offence."

However, Mark McDonald, the newly-elected SNP MSP for Aberdeen Donside, responded with an attack on Labour's plans.

Mr McDonald said: “While the Labour administration’s response to most issues appears to be to pass the buck, they cannot escape the need to develop halting sites.

It is somewhat ironic that, had Labour played a constructive role in opposition rather than scaremongering, there could well have been halting sites in place by now.

“Instead, what we see is a cack-handed attempt to establish halting sites that completely ignores the need to consult with residents and only leads to communities feeling that things are being done to them, not with them.

"It also gives the very clear impression that this is merely a tick-box exercise for the Labour-led administration, rather than a genuine attempt to address the issue."