Council rules over illegal gypsy and traveller sites
Posted on Tuesday 25th September 2018
Newport City Council has to follow regulations laid out by the Welsh Government when it comes to dealing with travellers moving onto council owned land.
The council recognises the public’s frustration when incidents like this happen and the expectation that travellers should be removed within hours of setting up an illegal encampment.
However the council has to follow the rules, assess the situation and involve other partners so assessments can be carried out before action is decided on.
Gypsy and Travellers are a recognised ethnic group, which means that the council has a number of legal duties towards them under the Equalities Act, the Housing Act and the Children Act.
The council also has to comply with the Human Rights Act and, in particular, respect their right to family life.
Gypsy and Traveller families who have an assessed housing need and a local connection to the area, but can demonstrate a cultural aversion to "bricks and mortar" accommodation, have a right to be provided with a permanent pitch on a caravan site.
That is why the council is constructing the caravan site at Ellen Ridge, to accommodate those families who wish to live in Newport on a permanent basis.
However, the council does not have a temporary gypsy site for those transient Gypsy and Traveller families who are just staying in the area temporarily.
In fact, there is no official transit site in the whole of Gwent. Therefore, they resort to trespassing on public and private land, creating unauthorised encampments.
The Police and the council can only exercise statutory powers under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act to evict the travellers where there is an authorised site to which they can be directed. In the absence of such a site, then legal powers are severely constrained.
In fact, statutory guidance issued by Welsh Government requires the council and the Police to "tolerate" these encampments - effectively allowing the families to stay there until they are ready to move on - provided that the site is not a sensitive one and they do not cause any damage or antisocial behaviour.
However, if the site is a sensitive one - a park, near to a school, houses or other public buildings etc. - and/or the families are causing disturbance or damage, then the council will look to evict them as soon as possible, following the agreed protocol with the Police. Even then, there are strict legal requirements to go through.
Firstly, the council has to carry out a social assessment, with health, so see if there are any vulnerable people with care needs within the group. That will dictate how long the council will allow them to stay before they can be evicted.
If there are no vulnerable people, then the council would look to evict them immediately from our land, using self-help common law remedies as landowner. The council would issue them with a common law notice to quit and if they haven't vacated within 24 hours, certificated bailiffs will be used to tow their vehicles off the land and onto the nearest highway.
But if the police advise that this could cause public order problems or the bailiffs encounter resistance, then the council has no option but to commence court proceedings for a possession order. This would usually take two weeks, depending on the availability of a judge.
Once the order is granted, then the council would instruct the High Court sheriff's officers to carry out the eviction. The Court Order means that it is an offence for the travellers to go back onto the site once they have been evicted.