Julian Knight MP is calling for legal changes to allow law-abiding private landowners to evict trespassers once a court has decided that they should be moved on, in order to better protect our community from illegal camps.
His demand follows the difficulty that a local landlord has had in securing a court date to evict the travellers who have pitched camp behind the Audi garage in Shirley. A petition in support of his proposals is available to sign in many pubs across the constituency.
The delay has allowed them to stay in place beyond the weekend, and this extended stay has been accompanied by very concerning rise in anti-social behaviour: not only has a local coffee shop reported theft and vandalism, but employees of the garage and other local businesses have had their cars damaged by children throwing rocks.
Julian’s team has made several visit to the site, and he is in constant contact with the police and local authorities to make sure that residents’ concerns are properly represented, both regarding this camp and the new one in Monkspath Hall Road car park.
In response to these developments, Julian Knight said:
“Anti-social behaviour is unacceptable, as is damage to property. I would like to see better access to the courts for law-abiding private landlords and when the courts grant evictions it should take 12 hours, not the current 48.
“In my opinion the law is currently slanted too heavily against landlords and the wider community in favour of travellers and their illegal incursions.”