Travellers have set up camp illegally - opposite a council headquarters. Two caravans and other vehicles moved on to the council-owned car park at Walliscote Place in Weston-super-Mare on Wednesday.
Council bosses have now issued the group with a notice to leave the site. If they fail to comply the authority will start the legal process through the courts to remove them, reports Somerset Live.
A North Somerset Council spokesman said: “We received reports of an unauthorised encampment in Walliscote Place car park, made up of two caravans and associated vehicles, and visited the site to carry out health and welfare checks. We’ve served the group with a notice to leave. If they don’t, we’ll begin the legal process to obtain a court hearing.”
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In the past, the Beach Lawns has been a popular stop-off with travellers. The council spent £150,000 last year installing more than 600 bollards along the length of the lawns to prevent illegal encampments.
The Beach Lawns is used for numerous events each year including the annual Weston Lions Club Real Ale and Cider Festival and for overflow parking on busy days.
Measures have already been put in place at traveller hotspots including Hutton Moor Leisure Centre and at Melrose car park on the seafront. North Somerset is a popular stop off with travellers during the summer months when they arrive in the district looking for work.
Currently, the council has no transient sites for travellers where they can be moved onto. However the district does offer a number of permanent pitches for the travelling community including the Willowmead site and a newly developed site at the Old Junction Yard, both in Weston-super-Mare.
It's understood that North Somerset Council spends around £40,000 a year dealing with traveller encampments.
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