Responding to Your Concerns - Travellers on EDDC Land

Contact me on joe.whibley@eastdevon.gov.uk if you have any further questions.

A few words on travellers occupying EDDC spaces. I’ve had lots of questions via email and Facebook about this. It’s clear that people aren’t happy, so I thought I’d explain the situation and look at what we can do.

The main issues are:

1. How can we stop them getting on to spaces?

2. Why can’t we prosecute them for criminal damage or trespassing?

First off, credit where it’s due: however it may seem from the outside, I can assure you that EDDC move on these incursions incredibly quickly. They use a bailiff firm and as soon as a group arrives, the process to move them on starts straight away. In most cases, that means they’re gone within a few days rather than becoming a long‑term fixture. That does make a real difference compared to other areas.

I often hear that enforcement have served notice on them before I’d even heard the travellers were even there!

Our sites are designed to be as secure as possible while not appearing fortified or unwelcoming, and there are other considerations with some parks - do we have events regularly on the space? Is it a designated air ambulance landing site? We do what we can, and have spent considerable sums since I’ve been a councillor, but sometimes it’s never going to be enough. If the cost of physical measures gets past a certain level - which could be millions because we need to consider every one of the 200 plus open spaces in East Devon, the cost of a contract with bailiff enforcement is actually very good value.

However, there are some simple things we can do - more later.

So why can’t we just prosecute people?

This is the bit that frustrates a lot of people—the police can’t just “do something” because a group turns up. Trespass on its own isn’t a criminal offence. That means officers don’t have the power to stop people arriving or to immediately remove them just for being there.

Where offences are reported (damage, theft, etc), the issue is evidence. If 15–20 people are on site, the police still have to prove who actually did what. If nobody saw who broke a lock or caused damage, it’s very difficult to take action—same as it would be with any other group.

So what happens in practice is a fairly predictable cycle:

• A group from the travelling community arrives

• Council and police are notified

• Bailiffs attend and serve notice

• Group leaves a day or so later

Rinse and repeat, often somewhere else locally.

There are stronger police powers they can use in some cases, but they’re not as simple as they sound. Moving people on immediately raises practical questions (where to move them to, how to physically shift vehicles, risk of the group re-forming in larger numbers elsewhere). Used bluntly, it can make the situation worse rather than better.

In terms of impact on residents, most of what’s reported tends to fall under anti-social behaviour—noise, bikes being ridden around, rubbish left behind—rather than targeted crime against nearby homes. That doesn’t make it any less annoying, and I completely understand why people feel frustrated by it.

The honest reality is that local agencies are responding quickly, but they’re working within a system that creates a constant loop: move one group on, and another appears somewhere else.

What can we do?

In the short term, there are a few things. EDDC have spent a considerable amount of money in various sites (Brixington Park, upgrading gates and posts at the Imperial Rec etc) but there are some weak points both there and at other sites which, while they won’t stop incursions on their own, would help make it more difficult and potentially put off travellers. Some of these are easy-ish fixes and hopefully we can get them done - EDDC officers are looking into this at the moment.

The other thing is CCTV - as outlined above, no evidence means no chance of prosecution if a crime is committed. CCTV alone does not guarantee good quality evidence, but is obviously the best hope of getting action taken. We need to look at cctv provision from local councils and also map provision from any buildings or organisations already there. This will take a little longer, but could ultimately lead to prosecution.

This may not be a particularly satisfying answer, but we have to operate within the law - I think given we're in a period where council spending is under so much pressure thanks to local government reorganisation, these measures are the way forward.

Huge thanks to Exmouth Police for their help with the legal questions posed by this.