New measures to deter travellers from park & ride

Silk Mills park and ride has seen traveller encampments in recent years.

A council is to spend up to £125,000 on new security measures to keep travellers away from a park and ride site.

The Silk Mills park and ride, near the A3065 in Taunton, has seen a number of unauthorised traveller encampments in recent years, including two within the last three months.

The new measures are likely to include low-height barriers, a combination of bollards and boulders, new main gates and a new secure entrance and exit for minibuses based on the site.

Somerset Council said the work is included in its capital spend this year to ensure potential disruption and clear-up costs are prevented.

The measures are likely to see new low height barriers installed

Changes were also made to its sister site, the Taunton Gateway park and ride, in 2019, including the installation of “physical features to block access”.

Similar measures will be put in place at the Silk Mills site – although it has not been confirmed how soon they will be implemented, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A council spokesperson said: "Depending on the length of stay, it can cost between £350 and £500 to clear up following an unauthorised encampment with this work carried out by council staff.”

To prevent unauthorised encampments in the long term, the council is working on identifying large permanent sites for travellers, as well as approving applications for smaller sites across the county.