Travellers block Leeds city centre car park - Yorkshire

From the Yorkshire Evening Post

LEEDS City Council is facing more calls to come up with a permanent solution after two Traveller camps appeared in different locations in the city.

Around 17 caravans were reported at the old South Leeds Sports Centre in Beeston after boltcroppers were used to break into car park.

Residents claimed ugly confrontations with the travelling families were preventing the Beeston Broncos junior rugby teams from training or playing home matches while angry club members claimed they faced a significant clean-up once the Travellers had moved on

Meanwhile, another smaller encampment has also appeared this week under the inner ring road flyover at the intersection with Wellington Street.

Around ten caravans have taken up spaces, forcing drivers who usually use the site to find parking spaces elsewhere.

A Leeds City Council spokesman said: “We know unlawful encampments can have a detrimental impact on communities and we need to balance this with the welfare and needs of Travellers.

“We take concerns from local residents seriously and work closely with representatives of the gypsy and Traveller community to find pragmatic ways to deliver sites where Travellers can stay.

“We are also aware that the time taken for legal enforcement procedures to be processed by courts and carried out can be frustrating but we are making sure that we act as promptly as possible.”