RESIDENTS have expressed their disappointment after Travellers were left to encamp on a Northwich field for more than week.

Caravans arrived at Jubilee Fields in Winnington last Saturday (June 5) and they remained there until finally leaving on Sunday (June 13) evening.

It is not the first time a group of Travellers had encamped at the site, with Cheshire West and Chester council serving them with a section 77 notice, instructing them to leave within 24 hours, a request which they ignored.

The council had been planning on visiting the site with a summons on Monday, but the Travellers left before they could do that, leaving behind masses of rubbish on the field and human waste in the connected woodland.

Winnington and Castle ward town councillor Lee Siddall said he and other residents helped secure the fields after the Travellers left.

"Along with Cllr Graham Emmett, and some other residents, we went down to the fields after they left," he said.

"We were able to secure the gates with a padlock provided by one of the residents and a car was parked in front of the entrance to stop them getting back on to the field.

"Street Scene came this morning (Monday) to help clean the field and remove all the rubbish from the site.

"Graham and I stayed to make the grounds safe for residents to use.

"It was not pretty as you can imagine, so I will spare you all the details.

"There may still be some glass fragments on the field that we couldn't remove, so I would ask people to be careful."

Northwich Guardian: The Street Clean Team from Cheshire West and Chester Council were on the field on Monday

The Street Clean Team from Cheshire West and Chester Council were on the field on Monday

Cllr Siddall said it would now be a priority to ensure the fields are properly secured, making future encampments impossible, including creating mounds of earth at the entrance.

"We have to make the field as secure as possible so this never happens again, and the mounds will allow tractors and mowers onto the field, but caravans will be unable to get on," he said.

"I have spoken with Cllr Bob Cernik and we would like to do this all the way around, so there is no possibility that the fence on Rosemary drive will be cut in the future, and vehicles can drive on.

"We are also thinking of planting on the mounds so they are more pleasing to the eye."

Cllr Siddall added that after speaking to residents, many felt their concerns about anti-social behaviour on the site had fallen on deaf ears, with police not taking any action.

He added: "Residents have told me that they are extremely disappointed with the lack of action from the police and have lost confidence with them.

"One resident has said that a senior police officer should be asked to explain their lack of action and that they feel the community has been let down.

"Another resident who parks his coffee van in the entrance to the field has lost out on a week's trade.

"After overcoming adversity with the pandemic he is disgusted with the speed in which this took to get resolved."

A spokesman for Cheshire West and Cheshire council said: "The Cheshire and Warrington Traveller Team manage the legal process around the removal of encampments on Local Authority owned land in accordance with HM Government’s guidelines.

"The encampment at Jubilee Fields arrived on Saturday, June 5.

"Our officer attended on Monday, June 7 to conduct an initial assessment and welfare checks.

"The group were issued with a “Section 77 Notice” which required them to leave by 11am on June 8.

"As the group failed to adhere to the notice period, we immediately progressed to requesting a court hearing.

"We prepared paperwork for our legal team immediately after the Section 77 Notice expired and then had to wait for a court date; we are not given an indication of how long this will take as it is dependent on the court’s capacity.

"The summons was due to be served today Monday, June 14 however the group left on Sunday, June 13."

Chief Inspector Gary Smith, Head of Northwich Local Policing Unit, said: "We understand the frustration sometimes felt by communities when there are unauthorised encampments in their local area, but police forces and local authorities are required to follow specific legal procedures in order to move these encampments on from the site being occupied.

"In the case of the unauthorised site at Jubilee fields in Winnington, we initially became aware of the encampment on Saturday, June 5 and our Gypsy Traveller Liaison officer visited the site later that morning to engage with those present.

"Throughout the week officers carried out passing attention at the site and acted upon any concerns raised or incidents reported by local residents.

"In addition we also worked with the local authority, Cheshire West and Chester, who, as the landowner, applied to the courts for an order to secure the eviction of those present.

"Those who were at the site subsequently left on Sunday, June 13."