I’m sure that like me, you were looking forward to spending the summer months enjoying our town’s many green and open spaces. So I’m sure you also share my disappointment that so many of our parks and playing fields have been occupied or threatened by illegal camps.
Travellers have been a persistent problem for our town, but this latest run of incursions has led many residents to complain to me about more instances of anti-social and even criminal activity than ever before.
Although the powers to move camps on rest with council officers and the police, I am continuing to make sure that local concerns are relayed directly to the police and council and pressing them to take effective action.
I’m pleased that Bob Sleigh and Nick Page, the leader and chief executive of the council, have taken personal control of the anti-traveller effort and I look forward to the authorities taking the situation in hand. I will also be raising the matter personally in Parliament.
However, we can’t keep fighting fires: once a camp is pitched they can’t be moved until the legal processes have played out. The best strategy is one which protects our open spaces from camps in the first place.
To that end, I have organised a petition on change.org calling for Solihull Council to invest in stronger physical anti-caravan defences around the most at-risk locations – clearly some of the ditches and tree logs currently used may not be up to the task.
This has already received almost 3,500 signatures, which shows the strength of local feeling on this issue and will strengthen my arm when pushing the council for a more effective response.
My team and I have also researched examples of how other communities have tackled this challenge – for example, by making innovative use of town-wide injunctions to give the authorities more scope to take swift action.
In the meantime, I urge anybody affected by these camps to make sure to report any and all anti-social and criminal activity to the police. Let’s take back our open spaces – whilst there’s still the sunshine to enjoy them.
Originally published in the Solihull Observer, 17/08/17.