Council notified of Traveller encampment at car park by Dreamland

The council has been notified Photo Thanet from my Perspective

Thanet council has been notified of a Traveller group which has set up in the authority owned car park next to Dreamland.

Around five caravans were on site yesterday evening (January 4) but this has now grown to some 15. It is believed some of the group were those who had previously been parked by the Winter Gardens but were served notice to quit.

The car park is one of the areas frequently used for encampments last year. In November Thanet council issued parking tickets alongside notice to quit.

Housing Act

The total number of unauthorised camps in Thanet last year was above 50, in 2013 just two were recorded.

The Housing Act 2004 placed a duty upon local authorities to produce assessments of accommodation need for Gypsies and Travellers.

In Summer 2013 Canterbury, Dover District, Shepway and Thanet councils commissioned the Salford Housing & Urban Studies Unit (SHUSU) at the University of Salford to produce an updated Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Accommodation Assessment that was undertaken by DeMonfort University in 2007.

The primary purpose of this assessment was to provide up to date information and data regarding the needs and requirements of the Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople communities. The report presented the projection of pitch requirements for the period 2013 – 2027.

For Thanet it assessed that there was no need for permanent or transit pitches. For Canterbury the need was estimated at 40 pitches, Dover 7 and Shepway 7.

However the rise in the number of encampments for Thanet could force a review of that assessment.

Calls for a solution

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.

6 Comments

  1. When is the law of this country going to be changed so that these spongers on society can be evicted without all the legal ‘niceties’ and subsequent costs involved now. There should also be a system where they are required to be legally registered so that clear-up costs can be levied against them with consequences that every other member of society has to endure. If I don’t pay my council tax, TDC WILL put me in prison, no ifs, no buts. Angers me a tad!

  2. They are just continuously breaking the law of one sort or other and nothing is done about it, or very little even when they go to court the courts just give them ridiculously low sentences. One reason case six so-called ‘travelers’ AKA trespassesrs, conned four Who conned four elderly pensioners out of thousands of pounds driving them to the banks to obtain the money and being aggressive. They were jailed for 3 years so they will serve 18 months or less.

  3. This council’s complete incompetence to heed the warnings and secure these car parks and other grounds from these continued incursions make them look so foolish. How many times has this car park been taken over by these groups over the past couple of years? Why don’t parking enforcement wardens tackle them like they do us if we don’t pay? Why haven’t the council closed these car parks and put barriers up to save money on court fees? They just ignore everyone and keep paying to get them moved on each time. Those campers are playing games with them going backwards and forwards. How long do those court papers last for pete’s sake?

  4. Instead of huffing and puffing why not just provide legal sites for Gypsies and travellers so they can park up legally pay the fees and not have to stay in car parks. They would then be paying the council tax wouldnt they ?

  5. They have become an epidemic in Thanet. The mess they always leave is disgusting and there is always the same few that ALWAYS go into shops in Westwood cross and try to steal hundreds of pounds of stock from certain businesses. Especially the one I work in. They are scum that needs sorting out by the law.

  6. Why would they pay for a site when they can get it for free ? No payed for site will work until we sort out the free areas they bounce to .

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