A notice to leave has been issued to a Traveller group currently sited at Dane Valley green in Margate.
The group moved on to the site over the bank holiday weekend.
A Thanet council spokesperson said: “Thanet District Council’s Community Safety Team are aware that travellers are on the land at Dane Valley Green and council officers have visited them to carry out the necessary welfare checks. As there are no welfare concerns a Section 77 Order has been issued.”
A second group are currently at the Lido car park in Cliftonville. This area is private land owned by firm Stour Side Investments.
A working group has been set up to investigate the issue and look at areas including Traveller accommodation, security measures and increased enforcement at high risk areas.
An update from the council’s Travellers Review sub committee was due on October 22 but has been postponed. The meeting will now take place on November 19 at the council offices in Cecil Street from 7pm. Members of the public may attend.
Unauthorised camps have risen from two in 2013 to 50 last year and more than 40 this year so far.
A spokesman from the Friends, Families and Travellers organisation has previously told The Isle of Thanet News that a lack of official sites is forcing groups to pull up on public land and not enough is being done to address that issue.
No one “forces” these people to pull up on public land; to screw rubbish all over it; to defecate on it.
They choose to do it
Too right Tony, I live almost opposite the green and the level of intimidation and general lack of care for the area is astounding. I’m sure the TDC could build a ditch overnight if they weren’t so focused on handwringing and counting their piles of ill-gotten coins.
Did you ever imagine trying to live your life without any amenities. Imagine no rubbish collection no toilet facilities and everybody hating you .One simple solution is to put a couple of skips there and a couple of portable toilets for the few days they are there.would it not be a lot cheaper than the big clean up of mess they make
when these people start respecting the area and the environment, perhaps they may find that they would be more welcome and sites made available. As it is, the rest of us have to pick up the tabs for their dirty habits.
Here we fxxxing we’ll go again! As Pontus Pilot was supposed to say, “ who will rid me of these tiresome itinerants?”
It’s a bloody farce and needs sorting properly and permanently. These people bring NOTHING of any value to the area but leave us paying the bill for the result of their lifestyle.
Yes these people are Pikeys.
Can somebody please explain how a official sites for travellers works. Firstly there is talk of having a site in Thanet with, I think somewhere near 10 plots to start with. We are suffering in Thanet with a lot more than 10 caravans or motor homes at the moment. So will the overflow still just pull up where they want. Secondly I presume when you stop at one of these sites you have to give your name, and address pay some form of fee. I really can not see Travellers wanting to this, as It does not fit into their life style. Thirdly can anybody call themselves a Traveller and just pull on to one of these sites stay a few nights and leave your rubbish?
If Thanet has an Official Site, then TDC can with relative ease get an injunction to chuck illegal encampments off public land.
So what about everywhere else they’ve parked up?? No doubt they will just move to somewhere else they’ve been turfed off before. It’s a bloody joke they get away with going back & forth to the same bloody places around Thanet.
Maybe Thanet Council could afford a permanent Travellers site, if did not have to waste thousands of pounds in court and bailiff fees moving them on. If they moved on when first legally told to. Instead of ignoring warnings of Court dates etc. I just do not understand if we do not have any legal sites in Thanet why come here. Unless you intend to break the law and setup camp on somewhere do not own or allowed.
Would be nice to know the cost of each eviction, seem Kent has been a target lately. Council don’t as not on there doorstep and they will just pass costs to us the tax payer
If they cleared up after themselves then it wouldn’t be so much of an issue.
Not many news outlets, including this one, want to ask the question to the FFTO as to why clearing up after the travellers have stayed at a site is beyond them.
Is it because the IOTN doesn’t want to be seen to ask difficult questions?
Drop a cigarette butt in the town and get fined £80.leave a tonne of rubbish and the tax payer foots the bill.come on TDC stop pussy footing around and get tough. Charge them as soon as they arrive. They are back at Joss bay again .try staying in Joss bay without paying for parking and see what happens.Their sites need raiding to check for weapons and anything else illegal. But TDC are too soft and Lilly livered.
Put a couple of skips there. Rubbish problem solved Come on council try it
They persist in coming to Thanet for 2 reasons. Firstly, there is a ready supply of residents willing to pay cash for building work or similar to be done. No cash work = no travellers. Secondly, they do it to put huge pressure on the local council to give them a permanent site to park on. This is the reason they don’t rock up in Canterbury. If you have a permanent travellers site in your district it is far easier to get an injunction stopping them from parking up on all other council owned land which means they won’t bother parking up there.
A good place to put a site is at Manston on the concrete apron where they will not bother anyone, then they can be easier and cheaply evicted immediately they stop anywhere else in the area.
There has already been several evictions from Dane Valley green this year so why is the 3 month removal notice not coming into play with this lot that have been here previously?
The problem is getting so much worse – talk to any Margate Publican. Pubs have been in lockdown from 6.30 onwards for the last three nights because of the huge influx of travellers in to the town each evening. The police appear to have no control. Totally disgraceful.
Just leaving this here
The Police have discretionary power under Section 61 and 62 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 which empowers the senior officer present to direct people to leave land if certain criteria are met.
The Police can also commence proceedings to move Travellers on if they are obstructing the public highway.
Under Section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, the police, at their discretion, can instruct trespassers, travellers or gypsies to leave land providing reasonable steps have been taken by, or on behalf of, the landowner to ask them to leave and that two or more persons are trespassing on the land with the common purpose of residing there.
Plus one of the following three conditions must also be met:
if any of those persons has caused damage to the land or to property on the land; or
used threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards the occupier, a member of his family or an employee or agent of his; or
Those persons have between them six or more vehicles on the land
Thanet police are scared of their own shadows.
They have moved back on Dane Park again, it’s about time that the council did something about it
There are not enough police because of Tory cuts. There is no traveller site in Thanet, because of Tory & UKIP’s failure to properly address the situation. There appears to be a total lack of ability to respond quickly to the situation. It’s an outrage that a public park, play area and playing field is being abused by travellers. There is no excuse for their behaviour, and their litter, nor is there an excuse for the councillors inaction… they have even put off talking about the issue until November. Dane Park should be surrounded by bollards except for a secure entrance for maintenance vehicles. Dane Valley should have a vehicle proof ditch and secure gate. Moreover, the Lido carpark and Marina should be allowed to accommodate them with Skips provided until a solution is found as this would have least impact on Thanet residents, especially children.
Sick to death of travellers /pikeys/gypsies – whatever they call themselves! They are scum! Wherever they rock up the crime rate goes up – look how Margate pubs are having to close early because of their behaviour. They contribute nothing to society. They pay no taxes. And they think it’s okay to defecate wherever they like. Get rid of them TDC!