Cleaning up after traveller communities move on

By Seamus Rotherick September 2, 2022 10:44

It is estimated there are around 300,000 travellers in the UK, with around 200,000 living in houses and 100,000 in caravans. As of January 2020, three percent of traveller caravans in England were on unauthorised encampments (694 caravans), with 419 of those caravans on sites ‘not tolerated’.

Most travellers are law-abiding citizens whose rich, nomadic culture is greatly important to society. However, a BBC Freedom of Information request found that 30 local authorities in southern England had paid £1.2 million over a three-year period to clean up illegal settlements.

Situations can arise when some traveller communities must leave an area quickly due to a land dispute. When travellers have been moved to a place where they can be better accommodated, there can sometimes be a mess left behind for somebody to clean up.

There’s help at hand

Gabriella Pemberton runs a team who gets to work quickly tackling the debris left behind by some traveller communities. Here she talks about typical challenges facing landowners and farmers, and how her team helps resolve them.

“At SafeSite Security Solutions, we receive regular call outs to private land by the landowners to remove litter and debris. Regardless of fault, our specialist cleaners are there to get people’s land back to normality,” she said.

“Our expert cleaners are dispatched to the traveller settlements and thoroughly assess what needs doing. Sometimes there will be extensive litter, white kitchen goods, children’s toys, food, and even human waste.”

Unbeatable clearance service

“Most traveller communities respect the land, but our company is there to clean up on the occasions when this isn’t the case. It can be a demanding task because you don’t know what you might encounter,” she added.

“We dispatch teams to the site in short order and get to work putting it right. The amount of time it takes to clean the area is based on how long the temporary settlement has been in place. We can say that every situation is different, and we have a team who employs bespoke solutions.

“Our personnel undertake extensive training and professional development to ensure that a high level of care is continuously maintained. And, our specialist knowledge of traveller site clearance and cleaning ensures we can handle whatever requirements a site may have, whether it’s a golf course, farm, park, business estate, car park or waste ground. It’s this investment in staff training which ensures we are leading the market in the removal of waste from former traveller settlements.”

Leave it to the experts

“Landowners can often attempt to take site clearance upon themselves. Whilst their intentions are good, it can be dangerous and I cannot state enough the importance of hiring a qualified, expert team to clean the area,” she stated.

“Under no circumstances should you try to arrange a litter picking operation to restore the green spaces to normal. Litter may contain commercial refuse, human faeces and other potentially harmful components.”

Beyond clearance

“Once the clean-up operation is complete, there are steps landowners can take to make sure these incidents don’t happen again,” she explained.

“After a traveller community moves on, we can supply you with dependable and efficient security measures to deter further settlements. Landowners know that suitable security around the boundaries of their land is of the deepest concern, particularly if that land is of interest to others.

“Whether people need a secure, tamper-proof premises alarm or want to protect an area with video monitoring, SafeSite Security Solutions delivers tailored solutions to suit your needs.

“We supply a remotely operated alarm unit for premises that can be mounted without needing a mains supply or phone connection, so it’s perfect for unoccupied land. The system can reliably monitor a plot of land, instantly sensing trespassers. Should an intrusion happen, we immediately alert the owner or our alarm control desk.

“If you would like to install CCTV coverage around your grounds, we also supply surveillance cameras that can be fitted around your land. These video surveillance cameras capture all activity 24/7, and our qualified personnel constantly check their electricity supply”