Measures to prevent traveller encampments in Warwick district branded '˜a joke'

Photo of the travellers that were on the Myton Fields site in July. Photo submitted.

Over the last few weeks there have been a number of unauthorised traveller encampments in Warwick and also in Whitnash.

Tony Gooch is now hitting out against Warwick District Council’s measures that have been installed to prevent these encampments.

He said: “They spend all this money on trying to secure land from traveller encampments and they recently installed a height barrier at the Myton Fields carpark so that travellers’ caravans couldn’t get in there. Then travellers got on the site again because the height barrier wasn’t in place.

“They hadn’t swung it round to lock in place it was just open. It seems ludicrous to spending our money on these measures and then not using what they’ve got.

“Even when travellers were down on Antelope Gardens, the bollards were concreted in but it was an absolute joke. I spoke to residents down there and they said they only moved them a bit and they lifted them out.”

During the week following August 24 there were a number of traveller encampments including on Saltisford Common, Antelope Gardens and the IBM car park. Then on August 30 a group of travellers moved into the Myton Fields car park. An unauthorised encampment was on the same car park back in July.

This week travellers were spotted in Mason Avenue in Lillington but left by Wednesday and Campion Hills in Leamington.

A spokesperson from Warwick District Council said: “Although the height barriers had been fitted at Myton Fields at the time when the travellers entered, the locking mechanism was not yet operational. This has now been rectified and the gates are locked.”