Over £140K Earmarked To Deter Travellers From Pitching Up In Chichester

Earth bunds have been recommended for four sites in Chichester to prevent travellers from pitching up there.

During a meeting of the cabinet on Tuesday (October 10), members recommended that £141,000 be taken from reserves to pay for bunds to be installed at Florence Park, Oaklands Park, Whyke Oval and Sherborne Road.

Their recommendations will be put to a meeting of the full council in November for a final decision.

Mark Chilton, cabinet member for finance, corporate services & Chichester contract services, said:

“The council takes an active role in supporting the travelling community in the district by the provision of the transit site at Westhampnett.

“But every summer, especially between May and September over the last ten years, there are still an average ten to 12 incursions of between six and 16 caravans onto our parks and open spaces.”

Ditches and bunds were installed at East Broyle and New Park open spaces in early 2022.

With no authorised encampments reported on the sites since then, Mr Chilton said it was assumed that they had been an effective deterrent and should be used elsewhere.

The aim is to have the new bunds completed by May 2024, though officers warned that a particularly wet winter could see that deadline delayed.

Mr Chilton added:

“We’re aware that the probability of these defences may have the effect of further sites suffering from incursions in the future and we will continue to monitor these and, if necessary, take further actions on the other sites impacted.”

It’s a pattern the council has already seen since the East Broyle and New Park bunds were installed.

Unable to move onto these sites, travellers have taken to parking up in areas such as Northgate car park and Kingsway in Selsey.

Mr Chilton said it was hard to add effective deterrents to car parks as they were obviously designed for easy access.

The meeting was told that some barriers at car parks had been broken in the past, allowing travellers to move in.

Kevin Carter, divisional manager for Chichester Contract Services, warned that no matter what steps the council took, it was no guarantee that travellers may not find ‘more ingenious’ ways to get onto the sites.

He said: “We cannot guarantee no incursions. We can only offer a deterrent to incursions.”

Mr Chilton said it was difficult to ‘totally prevent incursions without at the same time preventing public access’.

He added:

“The visitors will often bring heavy machinery and cordless equipment to break into the sites and negate the deterrents.

“While many unauthorised encampments are not too disruptive, there are always a small number that are particularly disruptive, which significantly impacts the welfare of surrounding residents and businesses.”

A tender process to find someone to carry out the work alongside the council’s own team will start soon.

And when the work does start, the council has no intention of being caught short as it was in 2022.

The meeting was told that, with only 20 metres of bunds and ditches left to complete, a group of travellers moved onto the New Park site, bringing the work to a grinding halt until they deigned to leave.

Leader Adrian Moss added that a feasibility report into action for Northgate car park was in the works and due to be put to the cabinet shortly.