Unauthorised Encampments — [Philip Davies in the Chair]

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 1:30 pm on 12 October 2017.

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Photo of Wendy Morton Wendy Morton Conservative, Aldridge-Brownhills 1:30, 12 October 2017

I absolutely agree, which is why the focus of today is that impact on local communities, local residents, and sometimes local businesses. It is often local community groups that normally use green spaces on a Saturday morning.

I was talking about the process and pattern that often seems to occur. Before it is evicted by a court order, we see the encampment simply move to another site. The Travellers set up camp while the council works on the eviction process, and just before the council serves the necessary order, the encampment packs up and moves on—often down the road to another site in the same borough—only for the same process to repeat itself. That cat-and-mouse merry-go-round comes at great cost to the taxpayer. Enough is enough. It must be brought to an end. It is time to seek some solutions.