Call for law change on moving travellers after repeated land incursions
Calls are being made to change the law when it comes to dealing with travellers after a spate of incursions on land across the Black Country.
Wolverhampton's environment boss wants local authorities to be given greater powers when it comes to moving groups off land in the city.
At present, the council has to apply for a court order every time groups of travellers set up camp on sites.
This means that if a group are travelling around the city, a court order must be applied for on each occasion and also for each separate site.
Now Councillor Steve Evans is writing to the Government to change the law so that once a single court order is granted, it applies to the group and not the site.
This means that the process of moving people on is much quicker.
The move comes after the latest incursion saw caravans move on to land at Planetary Road in Wednesfield last week.
They have pitched up in an overspill car park based at the swimming and fitness centre and the council was forced to go to court on Thursday to seek an order to move them away from the site.
This was despite the authority having already moved them on from a site in Bearing Drive in Bilston.
Councillor Evans today said he would also look to be a strategy between the Black Country councils when it comes to dealing with travellers.
He said: "Sometimes they go from one local authority to another.
"We know the police would like us to have a joined-up strategy.
"I think it is ridiculous that we have to keep applying for a new court order every time they move on.
"That's because the court order is against the actual site or land that they are on, but I believe that court orders should be against the travellers wo when they keep moving the court order is there.
"They can keep moving from one place to the other and we have to apply for a new court order unless the police use their powers under section 61."
Earlier this month five caravans were spotted parked up on on Faulkland Street Car Park, which is behind Kwik Fit on Stafford Street and just off the A4150 ring road, which is owned by Wolverhampton Wanderers and leased to the council.
