News Date: Thursday 25th November 2004
Loughton: More action, less talk to tackle irresponsible travellersNew powers on unauthorised traveller encampments and illegal developments
Tim Loughton MP for East Worthing and Shoreham this week backed new Conservative plans to tackle the growing problem of unauthorised traveller encampments and illegal developments. People in Shoreham especially will remember the chaos brought to the town which was under siege for 16 months a few years ago due to the illegal encampment on the Ropetackle site which expanded to over 100 vehicles at its height. The issue has become more salient over recent years due to new human rights laws unintentionally preventing the eviction of unauthorised encampments, due to travellers buying and developing land without planning permission, local authorities having restricted powers to enforce planning laws, and due to the rise of land speculators pressuring local residents to buy land to avoid the threat of traveller encampments.
Tim Loughton explained,
?Most travellers are law-abiding people who live in harmony with their communities. But there are some who are not, who are wilfully abusing the system and causing huge disruption to their neighbours. The Labour Government?s human rights laws and planning regulations have now made it increasingly difficult for local councils to enforce planning laws, stop unauthorised developments and evict illegal occupiers. We need less talk and more action to address these problems.?
Conservatives? five point action plan will:
? Prevent human rights legislation from frustrating planning law.
? Give councils new enforcement powers.
? Prevent irresponsible land speculation, where local residents are blackmailed into buying land to stop the threat of encampments.
? Give stronger guidance to the police authorities to enforce the law.
? Let local people have the final say on where traveller sites go.
Tim Loughton concluded:
?People in West Sussex have an inherent sense of fair play. There shouldn?t be one rule for some and another for others. That is why people feel a sense of outrage when they see there is one set of planning laws for people wanting to build or extend their home, and another for travellers moving into the area.?
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The action plan
Conservatives propose a five point action plan to stop illegal traveller encampments, give stronger rights to local residents and ensure planning controls are fairly enforced for all.
1) Reviewing the Human Rights Act: We will review Labour?s human rights legislation, ensuring that it cannot be used to frustrate the enforcement of the law in relation to unauthorised development of land. We will also review planning legislation and regulations to ensure that planning laws apply to travellers and the settled community alike.
2) New enforcement powers: We will empower local authorities to seize and remove unlawfully sited caravans, and allow the courts to levy fines which reflect the economic benefit of unlawful use of land.
3) Stopping irresponsible land speculation: We will introduce a new power to enable local authorities to purchase land compulsorily, where the land is the subject of a continuing breach of a Stop Notice. This will protect local residents from being forced to purchase land from speculators, at vastly inflated sums, to avoid the threat of illegal encampments.
4) Stronger guidance for police authorities: We will issue new guidance to the police authorities, encouraging them to use their powers to deal with trespass by travellers, and to tackle criminal or anti-social behaviour on traveller sites.
5) Let local people decide where sites go: Whilst local authorities should consider the provision of transit and permanent sites in the development of their local plans, we oppose the imposition of centralist, arbitrary quotas or statutory obligations on councils to provide sites. Local people should have the final say on where sites go, in a plan-led process.
