Yahoo News Exeter playing fields out of action as Travellers arrive
A playing field has been left unusable, with a local baseball match cancelled at the last minute this morning, after a Traveller encampment arrived on Saturday.
Residents near the King George V Playing Fields, on Topsham Road in Exeter, say a number of caravans parked up on the recreation ground yesterday afternoon - with photos showing a row of the vehicles, as well as at least two horses grazing freely on the field.
The caravans arrived shortly before 11am on Saturday, with residents reporting that more showed up at around 4pm. As the field is occupied, the Exeter Spitfires Baseball Club took the decision on Saturday night to cancel a baseball match against Yeovil, which was due to take place this morning (June 16) on the lower field.
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Posting on its Facebook page, the club wrote: "Due to the arrival today of some of the Travelling community to KGV, the decision has been made to postpone tomorrow's game. This is for the comfort of our players, visitors and supporters. We are hoping to rearrange the game to be played ASAP."
What happens when an unauthorised encampment is reported to the council?
As soon as a council receives a report of an encampment, they check if the land in question is council owned. If it is not, they inform the landowner and offer them legal advice. If it is on council owned land, they inform their Community Connections team.
Community Connections is a multi-disciplinary team, with and in communities, to support and empower citizens to make sustainable change in their lives.
Then what?
The Community Connections team visit the unauthorised site as soon as possible to make initial welfare checks. This is to ensure that needs of the people on the camp are met and that everyone living on the encampment is safe and well. Sometimes there are pregnancies or ill health that Community Connections officers can help with. They are also able to discuss plans or raise any concerns regarding their situation or behaviours.
They check the site they are on and order bins and toilets to minimise damage to the area. We also establish a key contact within the camp and inform them that they will be putting legal procedures in place that will force them to move on.
The council will then send the welfare checks to our legal team and they prepare a Notice to Quit.
What is a Notice to Quit?
A Notice to Quit is a legal document that informs the camp that they have 48 hours to vacate the area. This time can be shortened or lengthened depending on the circumstance. For example, if the welfare checks reveal no issues and the encampment is causing an issue for member of the public, the Notice to Quit could be 24 hours.
The Notice to Quit is served to the camp as soon as it is granted by our legal department.
What happens if the Notice to Quit is ignored?
When the Notice to Quit has expired, a Community Connections team visit the site to ensure that is vacated. A street cleaning team are then dispatched to the area.
In most cases, the Notice to Quit is effective however, if site is not vacated, lawyers prepare a legal Claim for Possession. This will include statements that confirm their land ownership and evidence that the unauthorised encampment has been asked to leave but has failed to do so. This gives us the right to evict.
How long does this take?
As soon as the court has issued the claim, it sets a hearing date, usually for around a week later. This is because of court rules surrounding notice periods. For example, teams must serve the camp with the Claim for Possession at least two working days before the hearing.
Exeter City Council has been contacted for comment.
