Dudley traveller's site 'will be away from homes'

Council bosses in Dudley are currently looking at areas to build such a site in the borough, in the wake of a series of camps which have needed police to evict travellers.

Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley says a temporary site would help to reduce ‘incursions’ in the borough. These sites gives police and councils greater powers to tackle illegal camps.

It comes as police evicted more than 30 caravans spread across three sites in Brierley Hill on July 5, which left Dudley Council with a clean-up operation.

Police officers are able to move travellers onto temporary sites if they set up camp on any other site in the borough.

If travellers refuse to move to the site, they would face the risk of their caravans being impounded and crushed, Cllr Harley said.

The sites also charge a fee to stay there.

“Officers are trying to find one, but we can’t find one overnight,” said Cllr Harley.

“We need to identify a couple of areas and put them out to consultation and see what we come up with. But a temporary travellers site needs to be away from residential areas.

“In a lot of local authorities that have them, there is a 70 per cent reduction on illegal incursions of sites.”

Plans are in the pipeline to build a temporary travellers site in Sandwell and extend existing traveller sites in Staffordshire, including in Wombourne which is not far from the border of Dudley borough.

Cllr Harley said it is important that Dudley also a traveller’s site, as the borough is sandwiched in between both of those areas.

“In Sandwell and south Staffs, they are looking at transient sites,” said Cllr Harley.

“If we don’t have one, they will keep coming to our parks and open spaces which we want to enjoy.

“These are for our residents to enjoy, not to be invaded by travellers that have no respect for parks.”

Cllr Harley said not all travellers could be painted with the same brush.

But he added: “At the same time, we have had some awful ones. They have caused damage to our parks and open spaces.”

It has cost Dudley Council £5,000 to clean up after travellers following some illegal camps, Cllr Harley said – which called a strain on council resources.