COLUMN: A change in the law to help tackle encampments quicker can’t come soon enough

The arrival of travellers encamped at Woodville Road Park couldn’t have come at a worse moment – just as lockdown began to ease and schools had packed up for the summer, overnight the play area and park was rendered unusable, writes Matt Warman, MP for Boston and Skegness.
MP for Boston and Skegness Matt Warman.MP for Boston and Skegness Matt Warman.
MP for Boston and Skegness Matt Warman.

Reports of antisocial behaviour rocketed, and the litter and mess in the area was utterly disgraceful. I can’t recall ever having such heartfelt, desperate emails and messages from parents as I had in the few days the park was occupied.

When I visited the site with Coun Debbie Evans, she too said that she’d had a great deal of contact with worried local people.

That work, out of the limelight, helping residents, is core to being a good councillor.

As the 30 or so caravans arrived on a Friday night, the council’s earliest opportunity to serve notice on the group to leave was Tuesday, and they began to leave on Wednesday night.

The council acted as fast as the law allows, and cleaned up the site as quickly as it possibly could be, before initiating a deep-clean and assessment of the play area.

The Government is already in the process of changing the law to speed things up – it can’t come soon enough, and I’ll be doing all I can to prevent this event recurring.

In the meantime my huge thanks to residents for their patience, and to workers from the borough and county council for their efforts in the area.

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