£10,000 Leeds Traveller injunctions foiled again - Yorkshire

From the Yorkshire Evening post

An injunction aimed at banning Travellers from nuisance spots in Leeds has again been flaunted by a group from outside the city.

Around half a dozen caravans have been moved on to the site – covered by a permanent banning injunction – next to Radio Aire, off Kirkstall Road, in Burley, over the weekend.

The YEP can reveal that Leeds City Council spent almost £10,000 on two permanent Traveller injunctions, which cover sites in Burley, Kirkstall, Armley and Wortley last year.

The latest camp is the second in just over a month to highlight the fact that the legal bans only apply to two named Leeds families.

Helen Jones, chief executive officer of Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange, said: “We warned that the injunctions would be useless, because all they do is antagonise people and they’re fairly useless for anybody else who’s not named on them in the first place.

“I imagine that Leeds City Council have learned from the experience.”

She said the council should set up more authorised temporary sites such as trialled in Holbeck last year.

Travellers have also set up an unauthorised encampment at the old Burley Sports Bar site across Willow Road, which is currently the subject of an eviction row between the leaseholder and the council.

Aside from the Kirkstall Road encampment, a separate group of Travellers pitched up on West Park Fields, in West Park, over the weekend.

A council spokeswoman said that it is thought that both the Travellers next to Radio Aire and in West Park are from outside of Leeds.

She said that council officers have visited both camps today, ahead of applying to the courts for eviction notices.