A councillor has called for a new debate on toughening laws to stop travellers setting up illegal camps.
Clr Martyn Bolt made his call after encountering mess left in a Mirfield park where travellers have been camped for almost a week.
He said it would cost Kirklees Council a lot of money to clean up the mess once the travellers are served with eviction notices tomorrow.
Photographs show piles of rubbish, abandoned gas bottles and even human excrement scattered in bushes and grassed areas of Knowl Park.
He spoke with one of the travellers today and they denied being responsible for the mess.
But the Tory councillor wants to know if councils can get more powers.
He said: “There needs to be tougher legislation.
“The law was changed some years ago to make squatting in a private property illegal so perhaps we should look if that can be extended to cover public open areas.
“There is a substantial cost involved in dealing with the travellers. The council has to go to court to get an eviction order and then has to deal with the mess that has been left behind.
“People have said Kirklees should have a policy of providing an official travellers’ site but studies show that in other towns and cities, like Leeds and Bradford, where there are sites it does not stop the illegal camps.
“Some travellers move on to the proper sites and stay for years, meaning they are always full.
“The costs of these clean-ups comes out of the public purse and council staff have the task of ridding Knowl Park of a lot of litter and excrement”.
The Knowl Par travellers are one of several who have moved on to sites in Kirklees in recent weeks.
There was a small group at Salendine Nook High School, another group at the former Comet store in Leeds Road and travellers in the car park opposite the Odeon Cinema.
Kirklees Council has spent thousands of pounds in recent years fencing off areas with metal barriers and boulders to stop caravans on playing fields and grassed areas.
The council website gives details about dealing with travellers. The authority says travellers are protected by the Human Rights Act but legal action can be taken.
“The council will need to take account of the issues outlined above as well as how soon they can obtain a court hearing date. Each case is slightly different in the length of time it takes to remove a gypsy or traveller community from a piece of land.”
