Travellers bring their caravans back to family park for FIFTH time this year - after locals had to pick up rubbish following previous visit
Travellers have returned to a family park for the fifth time this year after locals were left to pick up rubbish from a previous visit.
Caravans and vehicles were again seen at Swanshurst Park in Billesley in Birmingham on Tuesday after travellers were seen setting up camp several times in May.
The group was seen returning to the park only 24 hours after locals were left to pick up the pieces from a previous group, which meant an event scheduled for the community had to be cancelled.
The Friends group posted on Facebook at the time: 'We are cancelling our balsam bashing session this Saturday as the Travellers are very close to the area we would be working.
'We will re-arrange another date and post details as soon as it has been decided.'
The authorities have been notified after this latest development.
Birmingham City Council said it is 'committed to actively protecting its land and will take steps to recover this land where unauthorised encampments encroach upon it'.
The authority added: 'The council has usable transit sites and plots for use by the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community - which is in line with Government policy - and details of the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment carried out and updated in 2019 can be found on our website.'
As reported earlier this year a group of travellers set up camp at the popular family park for the third time in just a few weeks, forcing planned community events to be cancelled.
A convoy of caravans and other vehicles arrived at the park on the outskirts of Moseley and Billesley on Wednesday May 21 settling on the field near the play park.
It is the third time since the beginning of April that travellers have parked up on park
A local community organisation said members had notified the council with a view to initiating eviction proceedings.
A 'Balsam bashing' event scheduled by the group for tomorrow has also been cancelled. Balsam bashing refers to the removal of the plant Himalyan Balsam by hand to protect native species.
A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said previously: 'Birmingham City Council is committed to actively protecting its land and will take steps to recover this land where unauthorised encampments encroach upon it.
'The council has useable transit sites and plots for use by the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community - which is in line with Government policy - and details of the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment carried out and updated in 2019 can be found on our website.'
Video footage shared online showed the first caravans and cars arriving onto the park, filmed from the nearby children's playground.
A man who saw the group arriving, Stu Johnson, said: 'I saw them arriving while I was on the bus earlier - going onto the pavement by the entrance to the car park, driving along the pavement then onto the grass once they've passed the trees.
'Needs to be more logs or railings I'm afraid.'
Mary Hart added: 'There have been three lots of travellers this year on Swanshurst.
'Each time a different group. Last time there were two groups at the same time. The clean-up is mostly done by volunteers with help from the council.'
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The Isle of Wight Council is working closely with its local and regional partners including the Building The Bay group to address this problem and the wider social and economic challenges facing the local area. 'Sandown is one of the priority focus areas for our Planning Enforcement team, with the instruction to use their powers to require landowners to improve the external appearance of their buildings in the interests of the neighbouring amenity. Proactive planning enforcement action in the local area has increased significantly within the last year with tangible and long-lasting improvements already made. Emergency powers have also been utilised to secure derelict and unsafe buildings from unauthorised entry, eliminating anti-social behaviour and vandalism which was arising from within the unsecure premises. 'We are working with Sandown Town Council to make use of the government's High Street Rental Auction initiative to find new uses for empty buildings. All this work is wrapped around the Bay Area Place Plan, a dynamic collaboration between the Isle of Wight Council and The Bay's three town and parish councils to drive local regeneration. 'The council has also taken steps to address issues with its own building stock, securing £3m of government funding to restore the previously derelict Grade II listed Sandown Town Hall and bring it back into use for youth provision, which is nearing completion.'
