Bailiffs are on site this morning (April 3) carrying out the enforced removal of a Traveller community at the Chine in Ramsgate.
The group has been at the Westcliff since March 14 and are believed to be part of a group who had been moved on from the Sunken Gardens in Westbrook. Prior to that the group was at Dane Valley Green after being moved from the Marina Esplanade car park in Ramsgate.
A court order was served last month but was ignored.
Residents had complained to the authorities about a build up of discarded rubbish and human waste. A clearance was carried out by volunteers and then by council staff.
A Thanet council spokesperson said: “Thanet District Council submitted an application for removal to the Court for the traveller group based at The Chine in Ramsgate in March. The order was granted however, the group did not move on, prompting officers to engage bailiffs to facilitate removal. This took place today.”
UPDATE: Some of the Chine group have now stopped at the East Cliff by the Granville Cinema.
Thanet currently does not have an authorised site with the nearest being in Aylesham and Dover.
The Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) group say there is a 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.
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.”
