A group of travellers have set up camp on Council owned land next to the Handforth Dean retail park, where Next Plc has recently been granted planning permission for a new home and garden superstore.
The fourteen caravans arrived at the site on Friday, 30th August.
A spokesperson for Cheshire East Council said: "The Council is aware of a group of Travellers, consisting of 14 caravans and a motorhome, based on the old Airpark site, next to BHS and Tesco in Handforth. They arrived last Friday.
"Council officers have visited the site and we are now moving forward with the legal process to secure possession of the site."
Updated 1pm, Friday 6th September:
A spokesperson from Cheshire East Council confirmed today "Council officers have visited the location and we are now moving forward with the legal process to secure possession of the site. On Wednesday, the Travellers were served with a notice to leave by 5pm on Thursday. They have not left and we will now go to court to get a repossession order."
Comments
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WTC CEC Local Police may try their best here......... but again .... repeated many times in previous threads..... better use of existing legislation by those enacting it is needed.
Positive action enforced fairly, swiftly and effectively is the only thing to protect our community from reoccurrence...... and it is a frequent reoccurrence.
Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (amended by the Police Reform Act 2002 and the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005) Community Safety legislation, Guide to effective use of enforcement powers..........
http://bit.ly/14L4ekX
This document is intended for elected officials and ‘others’ in the community in how unauthorised camping is managed and explains ways in which enforcement action can be made quickly, cheaply and effectively.
In the interest of fairnmess..There are sites available locally Partington, Eccles, Congleton Stoke, Middlewich etc etc.. (I’m sure a list of Official sites was recently printed in the Guardian) then add the ‘Others’... so whilst CEC carries out its survey to provide a site.........
http://bit.ly/14Vtf89 ( refers)
Not only are law abiding and long suffering residents always behind in the game, but they appear to have little support in getting prompt action to deal with these encampments springing up.
So How about a bit of inverse logic, a little bit of mischief /devils advocacy.....
Let’s ensure CEC WTC etc assist the ‘travellers’ by legalising the site at Handforth ..... The amenities of M+S, B+Q, Tesco, John Lewis are all on hand ... Good schools nearby for the children... Provide sanitary block......And then charge an appropriate reasonable fee for ‘use’ to cover construction and management.... and thats where it will probably all fall down.....Payment ....... so we are back to where we started!
Travellers travel, Residents of Wilmslow reside.. Lets accommodate their needs in a fair and cost effective way.!
But Counsellors / Law enforcemnt bodies etc.. ask yourself ...Are you really doing your very best to represent your community ?
The PCC is too busy with photo opportunities and creating i-Phone Apps to bother with this issue either.
And Cheshire East will just line the pockets of their legal team as they go through the due process. They have even commissioned a consultant to find new sites for us to buy so the travellers have somewhere to stay when they visit our county for their summer holidays and fly tipping adventures.
One day they may realise we are sick of ALL of them taking our money and doing little in return for it.
Perhaps Cllr Michael Jones will also tell us how building a new traveller site will stop them fly tipping driveways as well?
The brainless attitude of Cheshire East on this issue really does make you wonder about their overall competency on other issues though.
Still, RoW won the local election and it could be the start of something bigger if the Conservative run council clowns keep this up.
This "free living" just cannot be allowed to continue.
Everyone who has a fixed abode is liable for some council tax, for emergency services, road upkeep, refuse collection etc. Ah yes, refuse collection. Every time a traveller visit terminates the council refuse clean up and collection service swings into action. This is after the police have been involved, to a lesser or greater degree, solicitors are used to obtain court orders, all at a high cost.
So what is the answer?
First, do the police check for vehicle taxation licences, MOTs and vehicle insurance? If not, why not?
Second, I believe the council must demand a financial bond or deposit to be paid by the visitors as soon as the authority is aware of their presence. This will be held to pay for any clean-up, personal waste, rubble (as is the usual problem), damage, criminal or otherwise, to property. Any balance can either be held pending the next visit or paid back soon as clean up has completed. It could be that all vehicles at the encampment be either seized towards the bond or not allowed onto the highway. If the law does not allow for this, then CE must enact a local Bylaw.
Money talks, the council must make it sing as well.
Mr. Goldsmith, very many thanks for you seeing the silver lining that RoW has created by winning the Dean Row by-election. We sincerely hope it will be the start of "something bigger" and with your help and others like you it may well be.