THE group of travellers which occupied the car park of the REHAB centre and part of Gurdons for more than two weeks, finally moved last Friday.
District council officers had visited the site the previous day and served the group with a notice under section 77 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which advised them that if they did not move on within a specified time, they would be committing an offence.
The process of evicting the travellers appeared to have come to a standstill at one point, because of the complicated nature of the case. Although Alton Town Council owns most of the occupied land, it is the tenants of the land who have the right to complain.
Subsequently, Alton town clerk Steve Parkinson was required to get support from all the many parties involved, before action could be taken.
After an apparent reluctance by East Hampshire District Council to get involved, it looked as though the process could take weeks to complete. That was until Mr Parkinson found that one of the parking spaces occupied was on land owned by the district. The eviction notice was served soon afterwards.
REHAB general manager Paddy Mendham said: ÒThere are a lot of fragile people coming to REHAB, and the added stress of having these travellers on the site has not helped matters. The town clerk has been very supportive and has worked very hard, and we are very pleased that it is all over.Ó
Mr Parkinson said: ÒThe travellers left a lot of mess. There were tree cuttings that have been cleared and burnt by Gurdons residents, and there was a lot of domestic refuse that was cleared by town council staff and the tennis club.
ÒThere were also items such as a broken television, a cooker, empty gas cylinders and a burnt-out fridge left behind, which have also been removed by the town council.
ÒThere were also complaints about the travellersÕ behaviour. People donÕt object to people leading a different kind of lifestyle, but what they do object to is the mess and damage left behind. The rights of the travellers need to be considered, but the right of Gurdons residents and the visitors to REHAB need to be considered as well.
ÒThe political processes involved in dealing with travellers are enormously frustrating. We are very limited by our powers, and the legal process is very expensive and very complicated.
ÒI was frustrated at the level of help initially given by the district council, because not only do they have more power than we do in these matters, they also have more funds than we do. They have also asked us to pay part of the costs for the eviction, which we have agreed to, but the amount hasnÕt yet been decided.
ÒThe police are in a similar position to us as they receive the complaints as well, but are also limited in their powers. They have been very supportive of our efforts and provided a police presence whenever we have asked for one.
ÒThe town council will hold a meeting with all the interested parties in this case in the near future, to discuss options to avoid a repeat of the situation.
ÒHopefully, getting everyone together will give us a better understanding of what we should do next time.Ó