Some good news on Unauthorised Encampments, Walsall Council brought together the evidence needed to secure a further 11 County Court Injunctions on the following sites across the borough:

1. Aldridge Community Centre and adjoining land in Middlemore Lane
2. Aldridge Airport
3. Barr Beacon
4. Walsall Arboretum (area extended)
5. King George V Playing Fields, Bloxwich
6. Pelsall Commo, including Nests Common
7. Swannies Field and The Lea
8. The Croft, Aldridge
9. Victoria Park, Darlaston
10. Wakes Ground Car and Lorry Park, Willenhall
11. Wolverhampton Street Car Park

This brings the total number of injunctions to 24.

Work is continuing to identify a suitable site for a transit site in the borough. This will give Police more powers to move travellers off unauthorised encampments.

“This issue comes under my cabinet responsibility and my thanks go to the council’s Community Protection Team and the Legal Officers for all the extra hard work and long hours that they have put in to get these injunctions in place.” said Lib Dem Cllr Ian Shires.

This further set of injunctions is another major step in tackling the problems associated with unauthorised encampments. When the Labour/LibDem Alliance took over the administration of the council from the Tories back in May 2016 budgets around enforcement issues were in dire straights. There were no enforcement officers in Planning, and the enforcement of community protection issues such as fly tipping, Unauthorised encampments and environmental health were dispersed across a number of departments and not inter connected or coordinated. In short things were a mess as far as enforcement was concerned.

Whilst the Tories complained about the effects of their own making the administration set about making the changes needed to bring matters back into control. The Planning Department now has a full compliment of enforcement officers who are working through the backlog of work which had accumulated under the Tories.

Community Protection has been brought together under the Directorship of Public Health and as a result we now have 24 sites protected by injunctions. A far cry from the situation when the Tories controlled Walsall Council.

There is still a way to go. We have increased the number of officers in the Community Protection team and we are actively looking for a plot of land which can be used as a transit site for travellers were they can stay for up to three months for which they would pay rent. We recently visited such a site in the North West where travellers can be directed to. If they don’t go onto the transit site then the Police have the powers to move them on straight away. No waiting for court orders. It’s done there and then.

At the same time it gives legitimate travellers a place to stay for which they pay and they will be expected to treat the site with respect. Certainly the one we saw was well managed and was no problem to the local population. Unauthorised encampments used to cost the council concerned somewhere in the region of £300,000 pa. These costs have been substantially reduced to around £30.000. If we can achieve the same results, and I see no reason why we shouldn’t, there would be savings of between £300,000 – £350,000 which could be used on important front line services. Doing nothing is not an option.