COLUMN: A change in the law to help tackle encampments quicker can’t come soon enough
Reports of antisocial behaviour rocketed, and the litter and mess in the area was utterly disgraceful. I can’t recall ever having such heartfelt, desperate emails and messages from parents as I had in the few days the park was occupied.
When I visited the site with Coun Debbie Evans, she too said that she’d had a great deal of contact with worried local people.
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As the 30 or so caravans arrived on a Friday night, the council’s earliest opportunity to serve notice on the group to leave was Tuesday, and they began to leave on Wednesday night.
The council acted as fast as the law allows, and cleaned up the site as quickly as it possibly could be, before initiating a deep-clean and assessment of the play area.
The Government is already in the process of changing the law to speed things up – it can’t come soon enough, and I’ll be doing all I can to prevent this event recurring.
In the meantime my huge thanks to residents for their patience, and to workers from the borough and county council for their efforts in the area.