Thanet council officers will make welfare checks at an unauthorised Traveller encampment on Dane Valley Green today (August 10).
Around 40 vehicles, including diggers and quad bikes, are now on the green following the arrival of an initial five on Friday evening.
A Thanet council spokesperson said: “We are aware of an unauthorised encampment in Dane Valley Green.
“The council’s Community Safety Team is visiting the group this afternoon (Monday 10 August) to carry out welfare checks.
“The Government has set out guidance which states that local authorities should not evict encampments during the pandemic. This has been extended until the end of August 2020.”
Police officers are currently on site.
Dane Valley ward councillor Gary Taylor says he reported the incursion on Friday.
He added: “I have also asked again for some automatic raising bollards by the accesses to the green. This would mean emergency services could still have access whe needed. We would also wanted measures like those put in at Jackey Bakers.
“We are now waiting for Cabinet to decided on where they are going to use for the temporary site.”
Thanet currently does not have an authorised Traveller site, with the nearest being in Canterbury and Dover.
Unauthorised encampments at sites including Dane Valley, Marina Esplanade, Government Acre and the car park by Dreamland have risen sharply from two in 2013 to more than 55 last year.
There have been 40 unauthorised encampments this year. Two were negotiated stops due to COVID-19 and a number were single day stopovers.
In December approval was given for further work to assess Potten Street in St Nicholas-at-Wade, Tivoli Brook in Margate and Ramsgate Port for use as temporary tolerated stopping sites.
Both Ramsgate Port and Tivoli Brook were then removed from the plans and land off Shottendane Road was added.
Tivoli Brook was removed due to “the potential commercial development and the opportunity it creates for income generation and employment,” while Ramsgate Port was scrapped from the proposals because it is “presently undergoing a feasibility study and the proposed area is in use for the storage of cars and is returning a revenue, it is also an industrialised area and not suited to families and young children.”
The aim is to use the sites on a rotation basis to alleviate the issue of unauthorised camps on the isle.
Cabinet members had been expected to discuss the use of Potten Street and council-owned land off Shottendane at a meeting last month but due to some incorrect paperwork the item was postponed until the next meeting, expected to be this month.
Temporary tolerated pitches are when unauthorised encampments stay for an agreed amount of time. The council says this means smoother enforcement is easier on those unauthorised encampments which chose to ignore the direction and stay on other land.
A temporary tolerated site also allows easier management of amenities such as waste collection and toilet provision, reducing the impact on the local area.
