Eviction of travellers in Woodley was 'best practice' - council report

Nationally, there is a shortage of sites for travellers which often leads to illegal camping

The way an eviction of travellers from two parks was handled has been praised by a council.

Ten caravans arrived at Woodford and Ashenbury parks in Woodley, Berkshire in August, by 4 September they had left.

Wokingham council said evictions could happen more quickly since it transferred responsibility to its anti-social behaviour (ASB) team.

It said the case would be held as "best practice".

A report by Wokingham Borough Council said: "The ASB team jointly, in conjunction with the town council secretary, served a notice to vacate the land and arranged for the bailiffs to undertake the eviction.

"The process was completed swiftly and managed to be completed in one day."

The report added: "Moving forward, this now forms ongoing good practice which will remain in place for towns and parish councils to ensure improvements in response times are maintained."

The appraisal forms part of a report on how the council has handled unauthorised encampments, which is set to be discussed by members of its overview and scrutiny management committee on Wednesday.

The report said there were five unauthorised camps, across the borough, from April 2022 to April this year. Four of these were in Woodley and one in Earley.

However, it also confirmed there were no authorised places for travellers to stop in Woodley.

A council assessment in 2017 found Wokingham Borough needed 26 new pitches for travellers "living a nomadic lifestyle" who needed to stop.

Since then, seven pitches have been completed on Nine Mile Ride, Belvedere Park and Little Moor.

Speaking earlier this month, Wokingham Borough Council leader Stephen Conway said there was no "suitable or available" land in Woodley to provide new pitches in the future.