Praise for council workers as clearance of Dane Valley Green gets underway

The Dane Valley Green site is now being cleared

Dane Valley ward councillor Gary Taylor has praised the speedy response to clear up debris left behind at the green following a Traveller encampment on the site this month.

The group moved onto the green on February 17 after being parked at the Marina Esplanade car park in Ramsgate since February 11. They had been evicted from the council-owned car park by Dreamland on the same day.

The group is currently sited in Westbrook alongside the Sunken Gardens. They had previously asked for Thanet council to provide a skip while they were at Dane Valley Green.

The work to clear the site began yesterday (March 8). The authority had previously just finished clearing up from a Summer encampment. Rubbish left behind takes time to clear because it has to be separated.

A council spokesman said: ““Clearance of a site following an unauthorised encampment is not always immediate due to the nature of the waste and the fact that materials need to be separated. This can take time and requires additional resource to be diverted.”

Cllr Taylor said:  “I’m really pleased with the fast response by TDC on cleaning the area after the astonishing mess left by the Travellers.

“We now need to look at a better defence of the perimeter of the green.”

Dane Valley residents are petitioning to have a fence installed around the green.

Last year residents living by Jackey Bakers fields in Ramsgate also raised a petition to ask for better preventative measures to avoid unauthorised sites on the space.

Thanet council responded with the £15,000 installation of a two metre high fence, bollards that restrict access for vehicles to the public right of way, new gates and CCTV.

The Friends, Families and Travellers charity say local authorities need to provide adequate land for travellers to stop as many families are forced to pull up in public spaces and on private land. This leaves many with interrupted access to basic water and sanitation, education and healthcare.

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Thanet currently does not have an authorised site with the nearest being in Aylesham and Dover.
An FFT spokesman previously told The Isle of Thanet News that sites should be made available, saying: “We would recommend that the district council and local authority work with the Traveller community in the area to identify land that would be suitable for building new sites to accommodate these residents.”

14 Comments

  1. That is disgusting, just thrown from the caravan door most likely with no care in the world for the environment. TDC must start to fine those who fly-tip no matter who they are, but these are the same people who have fly-tipped at each location they have stopped at in Thanet and will do at the present location unless TDC start to come down heavy on them for a change. They will always find a new location they can drive up on so wasting money on fencing is pretty much useless.

  2. Yes well done TDC for clearing up the mess……..BUT here’s an idea before the ‘travellers’ Are moved on the police don’t allow them to leave untill the travellers have removed all their rubbish. If the travellers refuse to take their rubbish than TDC should take their vehicles and caravans as part payment towards the clean up. As I am fed up with paying my taxes to clear up behind these people, as they move from one place to another , its just a game to them , its about time the law was changed. What happens if we all start living their life style of leaving rubbish everywhere, not paying to park in car parked etc etc ……

  3. I see they have moved to the ‘Sunken Garden’ at Westbrook now.
    More litter and rubbish to collect later….

  4. Why would we want to provide these dirty scum with a permanent site in Thanet ? Their own chosen behaviour alienates them.

    They have proved time and time again that they have no social responsibility whatsoever. There are plenty of caravan sites that they could stay at BUT they do not want to pay any fees ! So instead the Council Tax Payers of Thanet continue to pick up the tab for their disgusting behaviour whilst the Police and the Council just traipse round after them.

  5. agree with all said its about time we stopped being pathetic and send them to the other sites that are available if they want to live like they do go to a catamaran park and pay most get their money from crime the police can confirm that cant wait for the council elections so we can get rid of those that agree with gypsies

  6. Wish I didn’t have to pay council tax or take my excess rubbish to the tip. Not only do they leave rubbish, their human waste is dumped wherever they go. I could respect their way of living if they were not so disrespectful of others. They have no respect for police, council or any rules at all. If they can’t respect and abide by rules we all have to live by. Then leave Thanet, if they stay make them clean up and pay their way as we all do, in EVERY way.

  7. Travellers don’t make it easy for people to tolerate them do they? If they don’t pay to have their sites cleaned via Council Tax, why should those of us who do pay, have to subsidise them?

  8. The green at Westbrook is already chewed up. Rubbish starting to accumulate. Vehicles parked on grass illegally.

    So many offences committed that if committed by me, I’m pretty sure I’d be reported for and move on…

    One rule for us and another for those that contribute nothing to society and are only a burden.

  9. Why do they not get stopped for not having road tax on their vehicles? one lorry’s tax ran out november 2017 and that wasn’t the only one.

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