Mayor calling on Poole council to provide temporary Traveller site by June 2014 - Dorset

From the Daily Echo

FOLLOWING this summer’s Traveller troubles, Poole’s Mayor is calling on the council to provide a temporary transit site by June next year.

And he has a possible site in mind – for a temporary if not permanent solution – the under used Creekmoor park and ride, off Upton Road.

“Part of it, not the whole thing. The part that’s furthest away from any of the houses there,” he said, adding he suggested it in the summer when Travellers moved onto Branksome rec.

Cllr Phil Eades is putting a motion before Borough of Poole on October 22 pointing out legislation is available so that if an official transit site was provided, Dorset Police would be able to evict Travellers from publicly owned land within 24 hours – instead of the lengthy process with the council having to seek a court order.

This summer there were 13 Traveller encampments all on council owned land, and 15 in 2012 including six on private land.

The motion says that council recognises that each encampment “causes distress, worry and disruption to law-abiding local residents” and that Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill had welcomed Dorset County Council’s proposals for rural sites.

Cllr Eades said Dorset councillors had been told that other local authorities around the country who had introduced a transit site had seen the number of illegal encampments drastically cut.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the Gypsies and Travellers know full well which local authorities have complied with the relevant legislation and which haven’t,” said Cllr Eades.

“I am certain that if a temporary site is provided within the Borough of Poole, enabling the Dorset Police force the powers to move Travellers on within 24 hours, the numbers of encampments suffered by residents of Poole will drastically reduce and the Gypsies and Travellers will go to a borough that still hasn’t complied with the legislation.”