Thanet council has issued parking tickets to a Travellers group that has set up in the council-owned car park by Dreamland.
The group arrived today (November 1) with some 10 caravans on site.
Council community officers and police have attended and issued the parking penalties and a Section 77 notice to leave. An application has also been made for a court hearing to gain a removal order.
A Thanet council spokesman said: “We are aware of the Traveller incursion at the Dreamland car park. Our Community Safety officers have visited the site to issue a Section 77 notice, which requires them to leave the land forthwith.
“As the travellers have not complied with the notice, we have applied for a court hearing to request an order for their removal.
“Together with Kent Police, the council’s civil enforcement team, also attended and issued penalty charge notices for all parking contraventions.”
The total number of unauthorised camps in Thanet this year is above 40. There have been calls for an authorised camp to be considered for the isle and the idea of Negotiated Stopping – a contract between mobile Travellers and councils that allow the Travellers to camp for up to three months on specified areas of vacant council land – has also been raised.
The Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) group has called on the Housing Minister to address the national shortage of Gypsy and Traveller sites and available stopping places in the UK. The group’s research shows there has been only been a 2% increase in socially rented pitches available between 2010 and 2017.
