LEGAL action to remove a group of travellers from a park in Yate has been delayed.
A group of at least ten caravans pitched up in Lye Field Park one week ago, on Thursday, August 10.
The park, which is off Goose Green Way and Station Road, is owned by Yate Town Council, who took out a court order to have the gathering evicted earlier in the week.
The hearing had been expected to take place on Friday, but it has now been set to take place on the morning of Wednesday, August 23.
A South Gloucestershire Council spokesman said: “Bristol Magistrates’ Court has now started proceedings to secure an order for the removal of the Lye Field encampment, which will be heard by the court on the morning of Wednesday, August 23.
“The summons will be served to the encampment at the earliest opportunity.
“In the meantime we continue to work closely with Yate Town Council (the land owner) and the police, and efforts will continue to encourage the families to move on.
“The site will continue to be monitored by the Traveller Unit and cleaned up as necessary. If the encampment has not left by the time of the hearing, an order will be obtained from the court and arrangements will be made for it to be executed on the site as soon as possible.”
A spokesman for Yate Town Council said: “We are doing all we can to secure the site for its continued public use. There is a legal process, which we are going through as quickly as possible and are grateful to South Gloucestershire Council and the police for their support.
“This is a legal tightrope we need to walk to get ensure we get the site vacated, and will do it as quickly as the law allows.
“The town council will carry out a ‘deep cleanse’ as soon as the site is secured, so it can be restored to public use as soon as possible.”
Yate Town Councillor Chris Willmore expressed frustration at the park being rendered unusable by young people during the school holidays.
She said: “This is deeply frustrating. It’s the worst possible thing to have happened in the middle of summer. It undermines everything we do to provide places for our young people to play.
“Lye Field Park is a nice quiet space for the older kids. It’s a great place for kicking a football around, and there’s a basketball hoop too.
“Pedestrians walk to the shops through the park as well, which they can’t do at the moment.”
The encampment was issued with a Section 77 notice to quit on Monday afternoon.
“Once the court order has been granted, it usually takes 48 hours for an eviction. That’s a fortnight of the school holidays with the park out of action,” said Cllr Willmore.
“We need to put measures in place to stop travellers getting in in the first place. We are now looking at concreting in some drop down bollards.”
Residents who are aware of any large sites accessible to caravans should get in touch with the council, said Cllr Willmore, so they can look at these with a view to making them secure.
“The problem is there are fewer and fewer legitimate sites, so travellers are turning up at completely inappropriate places. A lot of places they traditionally used to go to, such as disused brownfield sites, have been built on.
“I know they’ve got to go somewhere, but this is the wrong site,” she added.
To contact Yate Town Council visit: yatetowncouncil.gov.uk