Tory councillor calls for rethink over policy towards travellers

The arrival of more than 40 caravans and vehicles on the site of the former William Gee school in Bishop Alcock Road on Monday night prompted a flurry of calls to police from concerned householders.

They have criticised the local authority for leaving the site insecure – and claim that when council officials did turn up they removed a padlock from a gate to give the travellers easier access to the site.

Residents say they are being disturbed by noise and have complained of dog fouling and damage to the grass from vehicles.

A woman – who did not want to be named – said: "I was driving home and got stuck behind some caravans. I followed them wondering where they were going then realised they were going near my house.

"Residents, as you can imagine, are not very pleased – and that's putting it mildly.

"They are just driving around in their vans wheel-spinning and tearing up the soil. We just wonder what state it's going to be in when they're gone.

"I don't understand why the council doesn't make these sites secure to stop this happening.

"And how much will it cost to clear up all their rubbish? Once again the tax payer will be footing the bill."

The council said it was monitoring the situation.

Richard Forrester, area Manager for the Wyke area, said: "Council officers have been down to the site to assess the unauthorised arrival of these travellers, in line with the council's Traveller Toleration Policy.

"The travellers have indicated their intention to keep the site clean. We will monitor the site on a regular basis and continue to liaise with the travellers until they leave or are legally removed to ensure disturbance to local residents is as minimal as possible."

But Bricknell ward's Councillor John Fareham, the council's Conservative group leader, said the incident showed the authority's policy on travellers needed changing.

He said: "Firstly, I'm amazed that the council's gipsy liaison officer doesn't work out of hours because it's during out-of-work hours that these things usually happen.

"A police community support officer and somebody from the council were dispatched down there and the next thing I knew were letting them onto the ground.

"It's complete insanity because they are now filling in the paperwork and this will probably be in the courts by tomorrow, so what the heck are we doing letting them on to then incur the costs of getting them off?

"What this does is expose glaring inadequacies in the system. We need to restructure and revise this policy.

"If nothing is done the Conservative and Unionist Party will be tabling a motion to the council in September calling for a complete rethink on this policy."

The site is due to be redeveloped to incorporate facilities from the new Kelvin Hall school, which is being rebuilt under the Building Schools for the Future programme.

A Humberside Police spokeswoman said: "At 7.25pm we received the first of a large number of calls reporting a group of travellers driving down a footpath at Hotham Road North to gain access to the site of the former William Gee school.

"Officers attended and reported at least 45 vehicles and a similar number of caravans were on the site. After we were made aware officers were more visible in the area overnight to provide reassurance both to the travellers and the local community.

"We will be liaising with the council, the travellers and residents to resolve the difficulties."