After setting up camp over two weeks ago, travellers are being evicted from Dewsbury Railway Station today (3 January).
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) first reported that travellers were encamped at the Wellington Road site on 18 December. Caravans could be seen lined up on one side of the car park.
Before the travellers could be evicted, a welfare check was carried out by Kirklees Council as part of the local authority’s five-stage process. This covers the notification of encampment and land ownership checks, a welfare assessment and site visit, the legal process, eviction, and finally the clean-up and re-securing of the site.
Some feel that this process is too drawn out, with the council previously coming under fire for not using the full weight of the law to move travellers on more quickly.
One councillor who has urged Kirklees to act faster is Cllr Martyn Bolt (Con, Mirfield). Cllr Bolt had also expressed concern about a damaged barrier at the station car park allowing it to be more easily accessed.
The council was adamant that the barrier does not need replacing but says that steps will be taken to minimise the risk of this happening again.
Cllr Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance & Regeneration, said: “Whenever we’re made aware of a traveller encampment on public land, there’s a legal process we need to follow in order to safely evict the encampment and clear the land for public use. This eviction process is now underway for the car park on Wellington Road, and we’ll be working to move the encampment on today.”
