Travellers overstay welcome at 19 Acres

A group of travellers who had been permitted to stay at the 19 Acres site to the north of Brighton have overstayed their welcome.

The area of open land at the edge of Devil’s Dyke Road has been occupied by dozens of van dwellers throughout much of the summer, but had been permitted to do so by Brighton and Hove City Council on the condition they departed by 2nd September.

However, they have failed to leave and the council has begun proceedings against the occupiers in order to regain possession of the land, which falls within the South Downs National Park.

A spokesperson for the Green administration said: “The group of van dwellers that have occupied this land has been tolerated at this location over the summer period. It was explained to this group in writing that they would be required to vacate the land by the 2 September. In the light of the failure of the group to leave the land by this date, we have started to prepare papers to instigate legal proceedings as soon as possible.

“The council is working to gain possession of this land as soon as possible, whilst ensuring that the correct process is followed.

“We continue to work very closely with the police to ensure that any anti-social behaviour that may arise will be dealt with. The council and the police will therefore reassess what action to take should anti-social behaviour occur.”

Earlier this month the chair of the South Downs National Park Authority replied to a letter to Withdean councillors Ann and Ken Norman to highlight the authorities disapproval of the use of 19 Acres as a site for travellers.

The Green-led council has consistently expressed a desire to find a permanent site in the city for travellers after a summer of unauthorised encampments in the city’s parks and open spaces.

At Thursday’s council cabinet meeting the subject of travellers triggered a heated debate between Conservative councillors Dee Simpson and Geoffrey Theobald and their Green counterparts Pete West and Bill Randall.

Cllr West said extra protection for Wild Park in Brighton was to be installed to prevent encampments, while discussions are being held with Friends of Withdean Park in order to prevent unauthorised access to the site.

Travellers at site to the north of Brighton

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Posted by on September 26, 2011. Filed under Brighton and Hove News,Council News,Featured,Withdean. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry