A group of travellers have set up camp on Earl Road in Handforth where they are causing an obstruction on the public highway.
The sixteen caravans arrived at the site yesterday evening, which a previous group of three caravans left last Tuesday (13th August) after being there for two days.
A spokesperson for Cheshire East Council said: "The Council is aware of a group of Travellers, consisting of 16 caravans, based on the verge of Earl Road, a cul de sac in Handforth. They arrived yesterday evening (Sunday).
"Council officers have visited the site and we are now moving forward with the legal process to secure possession of the site and clear the obstruction of the highway."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
They should certainly issue immediate £30 FPNs to each motor vehicle for 'inconsiderate parking'.
But this apparently was just displacement..
.
A point previously made several times is that WTC and Police use existing legislation, and legal departments more effectively in a more timely manner to prevent these camps developing.
As evidenced above it can be done.
Some UK councils are already being more innovative as opposed to being wholly;'reactive' maybe the Police Crime Commissioner can assist here.
There are sites in Carrington. Partington, Irlam, Middlewich (and probably elsewhere) where travellers can pay and stay ... so lets not kid ourselves... although there is an element of NIMBYism here .. there is still a continuing need to ensure travellers are held to account for not only rectifying the damage they cause, but enforcing legal action when advice to continue travelling-on is ignored.
WTC's own web site says:
"What do we do?
- Liaise with relevant authorities regarding infrastructure /policing/community issues to represent your views and get the best advantage for the local area
- Engage with all interested parties regarding current and future shape of life in the local area"
Therefore WTC do have a duty to lobby Cheshire East and the Police for action, although they do not control the outcome.
Otherwise, what is the point of WTC? We might as well just lobby Cheshire East ourselves and save ourselves the Parish Precept.
Gosh; you've got me on that one, Mark.
When I was asked if a Town Council would be of benefit to the local community; I imagined that it could be a splendid institution. Now I find myself labelled a "cyber troll" by a prospective candidate.
http://bit.ly/173Obe5
OK I concede that WTC have a responsibility to "liaise with relevant authorities regarding infrastructure / policing / community issues to represent your views and get the best advantage for the local area".
However, it is my belief that they are doing this to the best of their ability.
They questioned Inspector Sue Mills (Wilmslow NPU) on this very issue at the last Community & Order Meeting aback in July.
I witnessed this and in my opinion she was giving misleading and incorrect information to WTC about the period the travellers spent on the High School field and unable to answer any questions put to her about the Carnival Field period.
I have raised my concerns about this to the Cheshire Police & Crime Commissioner and other comments made directly to me by another Wilmslow NPU officer (Sergeant).
I have received an acknowledgement from the PCC but no detailed response yet on any action to be taken by him.
(Two drowned coppers on the By-pass in a torrential rainstorm .. got things done.. last Saturday night.. commendable..) Columnists.. Goldsmith and Taylor above... kindly saved me the need to respond to Stuart Redgard (Have you 2 gents (G+T) ever thought of running for local office? You do appear to have the voice of reason and common sense)
But I reiterate my point from a community perspective, ... without splitting hairs over demarcation / responsibility / lines in the sand.... Improvements need to be made in the way these camps are dealt with as they 'emerge' and cause damage / mess / sanitary issues etc.... A more positive use of ‘Council’ and ‘Police’ legislation and those enacting it should occur........ And positive action swiftly and effectively implemented to protect our community from reoccurrence...... and it is a frequent reoccurrence. ...
Is there any post event reflection / assessment / review where the actions and behaviour of those elected or otherwise could improve to support the community here ??? I suspect not.
The Police in Cheshire are relatively small in number and a rare commodity spread very very thin...I wouldn’t expect a great deal from them Unless they are responding to Live events and circumstances. (as above)
But what did George Orwell say “Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind “
I suspect there’s a bit blowing around over this issue.... and the ancillary bits highlighted above
So positive action to resolve a recurring issue ? Is it unreasonable? #Or playing devil’s advocate ... propose a permanent site in your own back yard...or your neighbours...
Thanks for your last post all of which I agree with. The problem as I see it (and that is only my perspective) is that none of the bodies mentioned above have the single power, or desire to act and provide a solution.
I am trying to engage with them all as best as I can but not making much headway!!!!!!!!!
"The problem as I see it (and that is only my perspective) is that none of the bodies mentioned above have the single power, or desire to act and provide a solution. "
What a sad indictment of our public sector though. No boxes to tick, so just ignore the extra cost and hassle to the people they are supposed to work for. And to think Cheshire East is supposed to be a Conservative run council.
Where did it all go wrong?
PS When does the result of the Dean Row election come out?
The framework is already there with ;
Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (amended by the Police Reform Act 2002 and the CleanNeighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005) and Community Safety matters / legislation ( I wont re-iterate previous re demarcation / roles responsibilities etc )
But ....... No doubt as you wisely allude to in your last........... it will no doubt become a "Sir Humphrey Appleby" Type affair ...... quote
“It is characteristic of all committee discussions and decisions that every member has a vivid recollection of them and that every member’s recollection of them differs violently from every other member’s recollection. Consequently, we accept the convention that the official decisions are those and only those which have been officially recorded in the minutes by the officials, from which it emerges with an elegant inevitability that any decision which has been officially reached will have been officially recorded in the minutes by the officials and any decision which is not recorded in the minutes has not been officially reached even if one or more members believe they can recollect it, so in this particular case, if the decision had been officially reached it would have been officially recorded in the minutes by the officials, and it isn’t so it wasn’t
I refer to our recent discussions relating to the travellers at Wilmslow.
I have now had the opportunity to discuss the issues of traveller encampments with the Chief Constable and your local Area Commander. The issue the police have had to face in relation to travellers in the Wilmslow area relate to the lack of a formal transit site which should be provided by the Local Authority. The lack of this site means that the police cannot easily move travellers on resulting in a lengthy legal process to be undertaken by the Local Authority to do so. It is this legal process which has caused the delay in this case.
As a consequence of this, I have discussed the provision of a ‘transit site’ with the leader of Cheshire East Council, Councillor Michael Jones. He has assured me that the Council are seeking such a site somewhere in your area which will then make police response easier.
I know one of your concerns relates to the amount of rubbish which travellers leave behind them when they depart. This is also a difficult issue for the police, since they would need evidence as to which traveller had left which rubbish – not an easy task as you can imagine! Should that evidence be there, then the police have assured me they would take positive action.
I trust this information helps you to understand the issues the police have been facing in relation to the travellers but should you have any further issues you wish to raise with me please do not hesitate to make contact.
Kind regards.
John Dwyer
Police & Crime Commissioner
I got the same response too from the Cheshire Constabulary spin mister aka PCC John Dwyer.
The response is both factually incorrect and extremely blase.
Firstly, Cheshire Constabulary have the powers to move travellers on irrespective of whether there is a suitable site for them in the locality or not. The police are being very selective in their interpretation of the law. This selective approach means they have just passed the buck onto Cheshire East, who in turn have meekly accepted this. The end result is it will cost taxpayers far more and I wonder when will Michael Jones start acting like a Conservative?
Secondly, the police only have to show what vehicle did the fly tipping - not what person did it. The latest travellers in Earls Road fly tipped a driveway there and when I went past this site on my way to work, I only ever saw one van that was capable of such an action. Proving this was the van involved is therefore a relatively routine process - provided you can actually be bothered to do it that is. Again, this highlights the glib response of Cheshire Constabulary and the gullibility of the PCC for believing that "Should that evidence be there, then the police have assured me they would take positive action". Sorry, that lie failed at the first test.
Frankly the whole episode leaves me thinking that the PCC and Community Police team are just PR sops to the public. When push came to shove, they did nothing. Instead they just drain resources from the front line services that we all want from our police force (or should that be police farce).
FRIDAY 30TH AUGUST 2013 AT 1:05 PM
@Neil Mathews and Mark Goldsmith
I got the same response too, and it didn’t even address any of the issues raised when I contacted him.
A complaint is currently being drafted.
Wether it's indifference to illegal camping by Travellerd/Gypsies or a 20 year town vision proposing unnecessary building on greenfield sites, that ignores brownfield housing opportunities, CEC need some tough opposition. WTC can help and hopefully stem the flow of disillusioned voters towards other parties.
The hidden agendas for Wilmslow are of real concern.