COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Travellers set up an illegal camp in Coventry over the weekend.



A handful of caravans gained access to the north side of Longford Park, off Oakmoor Road, on Sunday and police were called to the scene at around 6pm.

A number of residents also called Coventry City Council about the travellers.

One resident told the Telegraph: “A small group of gipsies cut the lock to Longford Park and people living around the area are having to lock garden items away and make sure outbuildings and sheds are secure.

“One lady’s house is only a short way away from where the gipsies have parked up and from her garden you can hear their music until the early hours.

“Once they arrived, many residents rang the council and police, and soon after officers did arrive and patrolled the area but only for an hour or two.”

A spokesman for Coventry City Council said: “Our environmental crime team have been out to the site yesterday to conduct the needs assessment and we are now getting the eviction process underway.”

The ‘needs assessment’ highlights whether the travellers have any welfare issues, such as pregnancy or ill health, and as none were found the council will now serve the travellers with notice to leave – giving them 48 hours to leave the site.

The news comes after travellers who had spent nearly a week on Heckley playing fields in Bedworth finally left just hours before bailiffs were set to be called in.

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council had given the travellers 24 hours to leave the site last week, but having failed to heed the warnings a court order was granted.

This gave the borough council the powers to force them off the site or resort to bringing in bailiffs if necessary.

However, this didn’t prove to be the case as the travellers left over the weekend. Meanwhile, Rugby Borough Council is also dealing with an illegal travellers site and are awaiting a court date to give them the go-ahead to break up the camp.

Six caravans moved on to a park in Newbold Road on Friday and the town’s chiefs are now pursuing a court order to have them removed.

Travellers ordered to leave Longford Park

Travellers who set up an illegal camp on a Coventry park have been given until Saturday evening to leave the site.

The caravans arrived on the north side of Longford Park, off Oakmoor Road, on Sunday evening and both police and Coventry City Council received phone calls from concerned residents.

A member of the council’s environmental crime team conducted a needs assessment of the site, which highlights whether the travellers have any welfare issues, such as pregnancy or ill health, that they have a legal duty to deal with.

As none were found, the council have now served the travellers with notice to leave and they have until 5pm on Saturday to leave.

If they fail to leave by that time, then the city council’s legal team will seek eviction through the County Courts.

Meanwhile, Rugby Borough Council have stated that a camp of six caravans that had moved on to a park in Newbold Road on Friday were given a notice to leave on the same day and had left the site within 24 hours.