Travellers have once again set up camp on Earl Road in Handforth. They arrived on the Council owned land near Handforth Dean retail park on Sunday, 18th May.
A spokesperson for Cheshire East Council said: "A group of Travellers, consisting of 12 caravans and several vehicles, is currently based on Earl Road, Handforth. They arrived on Sunday, May 18.
"Council officers have visited the location and we are now moving forward with the legal process to secure possession of the site.
"While there are a number of well-established private sites and one local authority site, the need for further provision has been demonstrated through the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) 2014, which has identified a need to provide further permanent and transit pitches.
"Cheshire East is experiencing a substantial rise in the number of illegal encampments across the authority. Incidents have almost doubled from 38 in 2012 to 69 last year (2013) and to date this year we have seen more than 30, which have had financial implications for the authority and private landowners.
"Failure to make adequate provision could lead to further increased levels of unauthorised encampments.
"Cheshire East Council wants to reassure our residents that we are committed to providing, as a priority, a transit site to reduce the level of illegal encampments and to enable the police to use their powers under the Criminal Justice and Public Order act 1994 to direct Travellers on to more appropriate sites.
"This will reduce the negative impact on residents and local businesses. If the Travellers refuse to move to such sites they have to leave the local authority area and cannot return for three months. While occupying the transit site, they will have to pay for services, including rent.
"Living in unauthorised encampments also has implications for the Gypsy and Traveller communities themselves, as the lack of suitable facilities creates problems in terms of access to health and education and we wish to address these too.
"We are currently looking at a suitable site for the provision of a transit site in the authority, which has been identified through the site identification work which has been recently undertaken by Peter Brett Associates.
"Failure to make provision, for both permanent and transit sites, would place the authority in a vulnerable position in relation to planning applications, as two previous planning application cases have demonstrated.
"Applications were submitted and refused and then subsequently appealed. The appeal inspector granted permission, finding that there was an urgent unmet need across the authority.
"We want to reassure residents that the Council is addressing this and will have the required five-year land supply required within the Local Plan for permanent provision."
Comments
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.......... doubled from 38 in 2012 to 69 last year (2013) and to date this year we have seen more than 30, which have had financial implications ............
And how many prosecutions for criminal damage, motoring offences, have there been ?
Transit site will become a site for Ford Transits........ use the local authority owned car parks,
from yet another anonymous CEC spokesperson....... no surprises here then
No surprise given Cheshire East and Cheshire Constabulary's feeble attempts to stop them. Word has got out that you can come here, ignore council notices, yellow lines and fly tipping laws with total and utter impunity.
No crime will be reported, no police action will happen and 2 weeks later you can come back and do it all again.
CEC could take out an injunction to stop all travellers from using this road. Instead they say all will be fixed if we agree to a permanent camp site in the area instead.
NO NO NO.
What is wrong with travellers finding their own accommodation? There are plenty of sites in the country and in Manchester, so why can't they use them? Anyone who thinks this will fix the problem is a fool - or a CEC spokesman (okay, I am splitting hairs there)
PS - Someone from CEC put 3 tree stumps and the plastic barriers (shown lying in the road in the 1st picture) across Earl Road on Saturday. How completely stupid do you have to be to drive out there and do this again, knowing it hasn't stopped the travellers for the past year?
Just when you think CEC cannot get any more incompetent, they keep proving you wrong.
CEC spend more of our money on dealing with the eviction than the cost of dropping off the tried and tested concrete blocks. You don't move these in a hurry.
CEC deliberately permit the trespass to sell us the idea that a transit site is needed here. It is not. There are plenty of sites through out the northwest.
Problem is there are rich pickings - cash in hand jobs from the elderly who are persuaded to spend more on unnecessary jobs, like having your roof jet washed.
Cllr Jones speech omitted to mention this. No reason why he would want to. He must laughing up his sleeve at our indignation and there's damn all we can do about it - oh, I forgot May 2015.
Unless CEC passed a permanent road closure order after Statutory consultation, then Pete's civic minded developer would be guilty of 'highway obstruction' and liable to pay compensation for injury/damage to any road user, as is CEC for placing tree trunks on the road.
Methinks CEC and Traveller,s pressure group could be using these traveller incursions and subs legal/clean up costs to persuade local electorate to accept provision of a nominated traveller site in NE Cheshire?
The reason I say this is there has been no problem having a car tucked up in the trees at Wilslow High or Total FIfness in the early hours this week. What on earth are they doing?
Doesn't make sense to me, they shouldn't break the law. It just seems like a never ending game. Camp, get asked to leave, get given some paperwork, leave - go do it again somewhere else!
And from previous threads suggesting the problem needs a Transit site... what purile tosh !!!..... Will one Transit site honestly stop this problem ?? ..... absolutely not............ If so build one immediately in Malpas where Councillor M Jones can keep his finger on the community pulse a bit nearer to home.............
Meantime RoW will continued to be discriminated against and treated differently breaching their ECHR rights to Fairness,Privacy,Freedom,Prohibition of discrimination,when they are prosecuted for parking offences etc...
From this thread. CEC state .... illegal encampments doubled from 38 in 2012 to 69 last year (2013) and to date this year we have seen more than 30, which have had financial implications ............?? Really !!.......... This is not unlike when Richard Dunn ( Who ?... you know that famous quality ?? British overweight boxer .. as opposed to heavy weight ) fought Mohammed Ali way back in the 70’s.. A complete mismatch.. CEC representing the Dunn corner...