We are all frustrated by this latest encampment as indeed we were last year.
As such an occurrence had not happened here for some 40 years it seemed important to us last year to take the best possible advice available. We are fortunate, in that regard, in that the Cheshire Travellers Team is amongst the most experienced in the country and the leader Dawn Taylor is responsible to UK Government for advice on these matters. It was Dawn who briefed us fully.
Her first advice is not to spend fortunes on trying to keep Travellers out.
“You won’t achieve it. If they need to enter a park, field or golf club they will be in in under 15 seconds if the gate is wood and about 30 seconds if the barrier is metal. The Travellers Team have no ‘recommended barrier design’ because none exists and none work!“
Wilmslow have in the past used metal high bar barriers and one such is placed at the Leisure Centre Car Park. The Travellers entered that site with ease – and are still there. They are in Cheadle too as I understand it.
Other vehicles of course need to access the Park for maintenance and the placing of concrete ‘obstructions‘ might not be the best solution.
We will continue to examine ‘cunning’ methods to keep them
out so please do let us know if the solution to all this comes to mind.
We promise that our Park will be left in a clean and safe condition. We are introducing two loos, a skip for litter and have supplied 150 heavy duty refuse bags.
Mike Dudley-Jones
Chairman of Alderley Edge Parish Council