I have been very concerned to hear about the various reports of traveller incursions across Sutton over the past few weeks. They have been to many locations, leaving behind rubbish and waste, as well as reports of violent behaviour and criminal activity. The terrible current situation in Fairlands Park shows this in all its stark reality.
First of foremost, my advice is to stay away from areas that travellers have set up in and report any violent or criminal activity to the police.
My concern is that Sutton seems to have become prone to traveller incursions recently. I appreciate that the Council and the Police have been made aware immediately after an incursion has been made, including this one, but I have been disturbed by several reports I have heard regarding some of the incursions.
One of the biggest concerns is regarding fly-tipping. There is plenty of evidence, by way of photos and videos, of travellers dumping large amounts of rubbish when they access our parks. The Council seem reluctant to begin any proceedings against the travellers in order to collect fines, which would help save the taxpayer the bill to clear up the mess they leave behind.
I have also heard that the parks police have not been stopping further travellers from entering and the Council has not been securing the sites to prevent further break-ins.
That is why I am joining with the leader of the Conservative group on Sutton Council, Councillor Tim Crowley, for Sutton to follow Croydon’s example in taking a blanket injunction out against any unknown persons occupying public land and depositing waste in Sutton. This should allow the Council and the Police to act much faster in removing travellers from our parks and open spaces. I understand this was looked at some years ago for Sutton and Croydon to apply together along with other Boroughs in order to build up a bigger portfolio of evidence, but Croydon withdrew at the time. I am disappointed that Croydon have now done this independently, but I still think Sutton should explore this as an option.
I am also joining fellow Conservative MPs in calling for tougher laws on traveller incursions in the UK. I recently signed a letter to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the consultation on travellers calling for more extensive powers for Councils to deal with this problem. You can read the letter here.
I am concerned that Sutton Council, including the parks police, is becoming a soft touch when it comes to travellers. Taxpayers should not have to endure long periods of time without access to their local parks and open spaces, having to suffer antisocial behaviour and then footing the bill for rubbish dumped unlawfully when it is well known who the perpetrators are. The same people are responsible for most of the incursions across the borough in recent weeks. There are examples, such as this one from Richmond, of travellers being successfully removed very quickly indeed.
I will be joining Councillor Tim Crowley to push for tougher and quicker action, and ensuring that all illegal incursions are moved on as a matter of priority. We need a wider holistic approach to tackling illegal traveller squats in Sutton, including better security of public land, rather than just reacting to each incursion as they happen and travellers then moving onto a new site.
Finally, I will continue to fight any plans for put a permanent traveller site near Sutton Cemetery. I am very disturbed that the Council has not ruled out this as a potential site when it comes to putting together their Gypsy and Traveller Plan by 2023.
Not sure if it’s connected, but as a door supervisor I’ve noticed an increase in violent behaviour at the nightclub I cover since the incursion began.
One the Saturday when they first started occupying the park (the first weekend since school holidays began) around 5pm a 5/6 year old boy was bouncing his football while walking on the footpath with his mother and infant sister past the children’s play area when one or two of the traveller children boys (all of whom had comandeered the whole of the children’s play area) snatched the ball from him ran into the penned play area and started screaming it’s our ball – admittedly they had an identical ball with them but they held both together saying it was theirs! At the time the police were there and the office intervened and attempted to get the ball back by asking the young child to describe his ball even though the boy was visibly in shock on the verge of trembling and tears. There were two men who had witnessed this event and the policeman walked away after to get the ball back and said to everyone present not to make a report of the incident even though it was theft, harassment, intimidation and bullying! His reason was that the children were under 10 and wouldn’t have criminal responsibility! Was this the correct police response in such situations?
Now on the 4th day of the travellers our public money is being spent on 2 police helicopters hovering arou d the park and a number of police cars whizzing around the cheam park farm estate!
My child got verbal abuse and kicked in the stomach but the police cant do anything as the kids were under 10!! I guess that means I can round up the under 10s my boy knows and give them a taste of their own medicine and feel safe nothing will happen as they are under 10.
I don’t understand how the police and Council have turned a blind eye to even more travellers setting up in the park. Surely they should have been stopped?! The park is full now – how is this permitted. Wouldn’t have happened on Ham Commom. Get them removed before the Park Farm becomes a war zone!
Sutton Council is now just a figure head
most of its services are contracted out
cut back to bare minimum staff
Closed down most of its youth centres and offices apart from civic centre
sold off most of its housing stock
any excuse not to pay out for things yet councillors and other decision makers sit in cosy offices being paid no worries perhaps they should be forced to make cutbacks and put the money back into the community
How long will it be before they are evicted, they are stopping the rest of us using the park. Or do us tax paying, law abiding local residents take second place behind these people . They are causing havoc up on the field and no one seems to care. It’s scary, bet if I parked my caravan up on that field I would hear about it, or maybe that’s what all us locals should do…..if you can’t beat em join em!,
Clearly not learning from their mistakes as they’re now setting up apparantly at the empty pub site in Ewell. How ironic the poster about litter in that picture. How is it that theft from sainsburys etc is not being dealt with and people charged? It’s an absolute joke. Can someone also confirm or not that these travellers are paid £5k by the local council to relocate when they are moved on?
I’ve worked with councils, including Sutton, its not true. They are also quite likely to have fines that they have to pay for doing it. The council blame the travellers, but really they’ve shut all the sites down so travellers have nowhere to go. 99% of Travellers live in bricks and mortar or on sites. The councils used to have to provide the temporary sites like they do for everybody else but they don’t anymore
Why don’t Sutton council take their lead from Wandsworth council. Travellers took over an empty secondary school in Southfields, about 15 years ago. There were 2 points of exit for the vehicles from the site, so the council placed two large skips filled with hardcore in front of them. They did this in the early hours of the morning when the vehicles were all present. The travellers asked to vacant the site almost immediately as the couldn’t get their vehicles out to do what they do!!
Any thoughts about what is making Sutton such an attractive destination?
I think the answer to your question is mostly contained in Mr Scully’s blog.
Are you also now very concerned that these sane travellers have just moved in from Fairlands Park. Only to drive straight round and set up camp in Cheam Park so they can run that for local residents and children? The incompetence if local council in preventing acres to these park’s is outstanding!
Couldn’t anybody in Sutton Council see that coming and have taken measures to ensure there isn’t any unlocked entrances to open spaces that are wide enough for caravans? A complete farce and now residents will have to put up with another 8 days or so of unchecked criminality!!!!
I am impressed that Paul Scully is on Cheam Park site promptly but where is our glorious Sutton CEO with his 6 figure salary? Why isn’t he co ordinating matters so there is a borough wide on these people from commandeering our beautiful parks and reducing them to trash heaps?
A lot of the comments in the blog make sense but it is the Council who need to understand that the Travellers already have many sites lined up for occupation when the legal ability (weeks later) to remove them has the desired affect.
The Council has many properties such as Car Parks and Parks such FairLands and Cheam that are at risk.
If LBS looked at other boroughs they would learn a lot such as height restrictors with High security padlocks that the travellers have not be able to remove. What is even more short sighted is that LB Merton introduced these measures in car parks and some park entrances. The financial costs of introducing these measures were covered in the first years fly tipping costs incurred from the traveller occupations.
In local government there is a principle called “Spend to Save” in year 2 or sooner the costs of these improvements would be recovered and become they could offer up to the budget process.
Wake up Sutton.
Travellers are above the law, if me and my wife had driven our camper van onto the park we would have been evicted immediately and fined, travellers dump rubbish, dismantle cars in the park demand money with menace from people to walk in the park and leave scot free.NICE maybe I should stop paying my taxes and have a free life.
Having just taken my granddaughter to Fairlands Park the Council has quickly removed the waste left by the travellers, well done.
What they have done is secured the double gates at the Wrayfield and Esher Road end of the park but not secured the double gates at the London Road end of the park.
LB Sutton make the Park secure in the short term regardless of the inconvenience to cyclists.
This is NIMBYism. I’m sorry, but it’s not enough to just pass the problem onto somewhere else, because it just perpetuates. Yes their behaviour is unacceptable, but simply moving them on excuses the police, social services, education, council etc from doing their job properly.
I know you’re Conservative, so are prone to want to take a really hard line on such issues, but at the end of the day they are humans too, deserving of humanity, and you represent them no more and no less than any other citizen.