Big gypsy mess costs taxpayers in Milton Keynes £41K - Buckinghamshire

From MK Web

TRAVELLERS have landed Milton Keynes Council taxpayers with a bill for a whopping £41,000 – in just six months.

The figure, calculated from April to this month, is made up of £7,000 on clearing up the mess left behind at 72 separate illegal encampments across the city and £34,000 in officers’ time for court hearings.

In the same period the authority has received 245 complaints about camps from members of the public.

As previously reported by MK NEWS, £2,000 of taxpayers’ money was spent on clearing up the mound of mess left behind by a group of Travellers at local beauty spot the Blue Lagoon in July.

Following the incident, the council joined forces with police and The Parks Trust to investigate ways of stopping illegal camps being set up in the city.

But now Travellers have moved onto private land, as reported by this paper last week, including areas on Rockingham Drive industrial estate in Linford Wood.

Councillor Peter Geary, Milton Keynes Council’s cabinet member for communities and public realm, said: “We are very disappointed in these costs.

“We would have preferred not to have paid that but if we don’t it will get worse and we want to keep Milton Keynes neat.

“It is taxpayers money but we had no choice in what we did.

“We will continue to be vigilant and carry on the process.

“Travellers have changed their tactics moving onto private land and we as a council are invested in what’s going on.

“This does not cost taxpayers but we need landlords to work with us to solve these problems in Milton Keynes.”