Call for urgent action on traveller encampments

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URGENT calls for action have been made following the latest traveller encampment at Woolston Neighbourhood Hub.

The leisure centre was the site of an illegal encampment this week with multiple caravans gathering on the fields adjacent to the car park.

Now Labour’s candidates for the borough council in Rixton and Woolston have joined local residents in pressing Warrington Borough Council and LiveWire to step in.

Labour’s Chris Vobe, Andrew Hill and Pat Wright have written to senior officers at the Town Hall and LiveWire with a call for action.

In a joint statement, they said: “This latest incident is one of a number of illegal traveller encampments that we have seen in the Woolston community. Travellers sited at the Neighbourhood Hub failed to adhere to a Section 77 notice, which has necessitated the Council applying for a court order to remove them from the field adjacent to the car park.

“All of this is eating into the public purse at a time when money is tight.

“There are simple measures that the Council can take to put a stop to further incursions at the Neighbourhood Hub. Height restriction barriers at both entrances to the car park would allow users of the leisure centre to go about their business, but would prevent caravans and larger vehicles from being able to access either the car park or the fields adjacent to the site.

“The benefit of installing height restriction barriers would far outweigh the money that is currently being spent removing illegal encampments. Residents nearby are rightly concerned at the impact of traveller incursions in the surrounding community.

“The last time an encampment settled in Woolston, we were assured that preventative measures would be looked into by Council officers. So far, no progress has been made. We are now asking the Borough Council and LiveWire to work with the community to progress this as a matter of urgency.”

Travellers pictured at the site in November 2017


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