Travellers have moved onto the Manor Terrace car park at Felixstowe for the second time in less than three months.
Felixstowe: Travellers back again on seafront car park
BY RICHARD CORNWELL
Thursday, October 18, 2012
11:36 AM
AFTER a summer plagued with problems of travellers, a new group has set up camp on a Felixstowe car park.
Eight caravans and an assortment of around 20 vans, trucks and cars have moved onto the Manor Terrace car park.
The group have event set up outdoor eating areas, and a group of children were seen digging on nearby Landguard Common.
After the car park at Landguard was used by the travelling community in August, Suffolk Coastal said it would carry out a security review and taking action to prevent similar incidents.
Car parks at the resort originally had a mixture of earth bunds and height barriers, sometimes both, to prevent them being used illegally.
The height barriers though were removed because of problems with access for legally parked camper vans, large 4x4s and even the council’s own dustcarts.
A spokesman for Suffolk Coastal council said the authority was continuing to monitor the situation with the travellers and will take legal action if necessary.
“A meeting is due to be held to discuss what can be done in the future to prevent such illegal camping, but clearly putting height barriers in would prevent those with motor homes or other large vehicles gaining access, and at the moment this car park is one which motor homes are allowed to use,” he said.
“We are sorry about any inconvenience caused by the presence of the travellers on the site and the council will try to resolve this issue as soon as it can.”
In the summer travellers parked on the south seafront site shortly before Bloor Homes began the £25 million homes and maritime park development, and then a second group moved onto the Garrison Lane car park and then moved to Manor Terrace.
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7 comments
Parking is free but there is a time limit and it defiantly states no overnight stays. I think the fine is £70.00. So the council should get there contractor who enforces parking in all there car parks to issue ticket NOW.
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A Smith
Friday, October 19, 2012
Oh the council are monitoring the situation are they? In other words picking their noses and doing nowt! I`m good at monitoring.
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Supernova6
Thursday, October 18, 2012
While the car park sign states that parking is free, I'm sure it's not beyond the wit of a bunch of bigots to simply fix so-called "Denver-shoe" style wheel-clamps the travellers' vehicles on the grounds that their "type" are not wanted in "our" car parks.
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bigger niche
Thursday, October 18, 2012
I well remember a large illegal camp at Wherstead around 15 years ago that lasted for several weeks before the "travellers" were evicted. They even had police guiding them off the land - photos were published in this paper - and not one vehicle owner was prosecuted for what must have been literally a ton of litter, human waste and wrappers from mailorder post that had clearly been stolen from doorsteps in the Stoke Park area. Whilst this bias continues, so will the problem.
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Sarky Sage
Thursday, October 18, 2012
I walk through this car park regularly and have noticed that the "travellers" have now been there for around 2 weeks. I feel intimidated when I walk through the car park as I have to pass right by their vehicles - the people who are there stop what they are doing and watch as you walk by and a dog, that is loose on the site, will follow you as you walk through. Some of the vehicles are parked across several parking spaces making a make-shift cordon across half of the parking area. Surely, after two weeks, some action should be taken to move these people on. The do, after all, claim to be travellers, so get travelling!
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Concerned
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Very simple to resolve start issuing parking tickets on their vehicles NOW. If I park there without a pay and display ticket I would get a penalty notice WHY don’t these people. Equality !!!
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A Smith
Thursday, October 18, 2012
With the photograph showing the parking charge sign can we assume they are paying? I'm sure if the rest of us parked without paying we would be fined!!!!
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JusticeInAction
Thursday, October 18, 2012