Travellers' camp sparks eviction calls

Travellers have moved onto part of a Black Country industrial estate, sparking pleas for legal action to have them evicted.

Around 10 caravans are on ExcelsiorIndustrial Estate, near Halesowen.

Police and Dudley Council officers are monitoring the situation to ensure that no damage is being caused.

Site owners Langtree today said they were monitoring the site, off Cakemore Road, Blackheath. They added they were taking legal advice about the travellers in a bid to force them off the land.

Caravans, motorhomes and other vans and cars can been seen from the roadside, prompting concern. The vehicles are parked up around a large disused part of the land.

Halesowen North Councillor Jeff Hill was contacted by residents about travellers moving onto the site in recent days.

He said: "Legally it is the responsibility of land owners to get the travellers to move and Langtree are doing everything they can to get the group off their land as quickly as they can.

"I have asked council officers to make sure that they check nearby council owned open spaces to ensure they are secure, and will not be the group's next destination." In 2010, another group of travellers had previously moved onto the industrial estate before being moved on following action by local councillors, the police and the site owners.

A spokesperson for Langtree Group said: "We are consulting with our legal advisers and working closely with Dudley Council and West Midlands Police to seek a swift resolution to this matter. We are unable to make any further comment at this stage."

Just a few weeks ago, travellers broken through steel gates on an overflow car park at the Black Country Living Museum, in Dudley. Eight caravans and a motorhome stayed on the site in Tipton Road for 13 days before leaving.