Travellers have left Dane Valley Green but a clear up operation is now needed

Thanet council has been contacted to clear the mess Photo Gary Taylor

Travellers have left Dane Valley Green in Margate but the site will now need a major clear up operation.

Ward councillor Gary Taylor is asking North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale to visit the site to see the ‘heart-breaking’ mess left on the field.

The Travellers group arrived on site on June 14 with the number of vans quickly rising from six to more than 20.

Cllr Taylor lodged a complaint about flytipped waste at the site and said residents were asking for some kind of barrier to be constructed around the perimeter of the green.

The group have left the green

Now he is asking Sir Roger to raise the issue in Parliament and lobby for tougher police and council powers to deal with the issue.

At present councils can issue a notice to leave but if that is ignored an application has to be made to the courts for an eviction notice.

This can cost some £226. If further hearings are necessary, this can go up to £355 each time.

Cllr Taylor said: “How can we as councillors raise flytipping issues in our wards when the Travellers come along and do it on a massive scale and appear to get away with it?

“I have asked Roger Gale to visit the green. We need him to lobby government so that the police and councils can be tougher on this and use sanctions equal to those that would be used against residents.”

Dane Valley Green was used by Travellers in April and on several occasions last year. Last June ward councillors Gary Hillman and Cllr Taylor appealed to Thanet council for a ditch to be cut along the perimeter and the soil used to make mound, sewn with wild flowers,  as a preventative measure.

The pair have since been told this work would cost some £25,000.

Thanet council states: “The removal of illegally dumped waste or fly tipped rubbish is a major draw on our resources.  Most illegally dumped waste is actually domestic waste put out on the wrong day, offenders have been, are, and will be prosecuted.”

Providing Traveller sites – the law

The Housing Act 2004 and Planning Circular 01/2006, Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Sites, has put in place a framework which means every local authority has to identify land for the sites that are needed in its area. The Secretary of State has powers that can ensure that those sites are identified, and the Local Government Association (LGA) says local authorities should be proactive in doing so.

The LGA adds: “The provision of these sites removes a major cause of friction between the two communities – unauthorised sites and illegal camping.”

The nearest authorised sites to Thanet are at Aylesham and Canterbury.

6 Comments

  1. The Housing Act 2004 is an ass and so is the LGA. It has no effect in removing friction when these travellers continue to return time and time again and use-and-abuse the same old green spaces with their criminal acts, which were meant for the local communities to enjoy. The Councils should be able to fine those travellers for the flytipping they do on an industrial scale each time they come. They should also be able to claim back from them for any damages and court costs too. Also, these court orders are not powerful enough, they should last 12 months, not just three.

  2. It always seems that minority’s have more rights to the law of the land than the majority of residents.
    Why should gypies have the right to be supplied with land when there are thousands of residents on the waiting list.

    • Please don’t call this people gypsies, they are not gypsies. Most proper gypsies, real gypsies would have asked permission and then left the site clear. These people are travellers

  3. Looks like they have been doing rubbish removals, taking the money and just dumping it on the green. Now it’s someone else’s problem.

  4. Why not charge the Travellers rent for each vehicle for each day they use the land payable up front in cash, or at least ask for a deposit so that they only get this back if land is left clean and tidy when they depart

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