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Can someone explain this to me?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I know there's some ridiculous law to stop twats like this from being chucked off land, but what is it, and what's the justification for it? Anyone else who did this would have their cars towed in about 3 seconds.
Travellers have set up camp near a cross-country course, forcing an event for 2,000 youngsters to be called off.

About 20 caravans have moved on to Western Park, Leicester.

On Saturday Leicestershire Primary Schools Athletics Association was to stage a number of races for youngsters aged seven to 11.

The city council said it was working to resolve the problem but was unable to evict the travellers until welfare checks had been carried out.

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The "youngsters" have houses to go back to.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    And so do the travellers. Look at any AA map for a huge list of places where you're entitled to park your caravan. What's so special about them that they are allowed to avoid paying rent to whoever owns the land, or even get permission, like anyone else who wants to set up camp somewhere? There are costs associated with cleaning up after people, so why should the council or the land owner have to foot the bill? Not to mention the fact that, as is the case here, there are actually plans to use the land for something else, that these people obviously have absolutely no respect for. There are plenty of dedicated places for people to camp in this country that would be glad of the business, so don't pretend that these poor little loves have nowhere else to go. They have plenty of other places to go, they'd just rather not pay for themselves.

    Incidentally, I'm lead to believe that if these people set up camp on private land, they can legally be kicked out straight away. The problem comes when it's council land, which seems ridiculous to me.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    They've parked in a car park. Leicestershire is a pretty big place and the travellers probably weren't to know there was a cross country run on. It's not exactly a popular place, it's Leicester after all :p.

    There is a lot of animosity towards travellers but like anyone else they're probably just trying to get by.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I wonder if anyone spoke to the travellers and explained the situation and asked with courtesy if they would move on.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    I wonder if anyone spoke to the travellers and explained the situation and asked with courtesy if they would move on.

    I think someone must have spoken to them as it sounds like some dialogue has been set up : "The city council said it was working to resolve the problem "
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    They've parked in a car park. Leicestershire is a pretty big place and the travellers probably weren't to know there was a cross country run on.
    Did they check with the person or company who owned the car park? No, they didn't. Everyone else has to do these things when they want to park on a car park, and if they don't, they can get a ticket, get clamped, or get towed. The point is that they simply failed to have a common courtesy to ask permission beforehand, and figured they could just turn up and everyone else would have to rearrange their plans around them. Incidentally, the fact that they showed up in council-owned land, rather than just appearing in Tesco's car park or something suggests to me that they know exactly what they were doing, and no that for some bizarre reason, the law prevents them from being moved on straight away. What hasn't been explained to me is why a council car park is any different from a Tesco car park. It certainly isn't when I park illegally.
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    There is a lot of animosity towards travellers but like anyone else they're probably just trying to get by.
    Then get by within the law, like everyone else has to. If you own a caravan and a 4x4, you're doing much better than most of the people who are struggling to get by in this country. Not only are there plenty of legal caravan sites in the country that would be happy to take them, but some councils have even provided free-to-use sites at their own expense. Any road map will tell you the exact location of thousands of legal campsite, so there is absolutely no excuse.
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