Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

More travellers invade the Semington area.
The travellers seem to be operating a scrap metal business from the layby which is causing disturbance to the rural area.

Littlemarsh residents recently cleaned up nearly 250kg of rubbish from the layby (much of it left by previous traveller camps) with no help from local authorities.

WC officer Stephen Helsby points out that, "The local authority's enforcement powers cannot be exercised as quickly as we all might like. There are legal issues to be addressed (i.e. service of Notices and subsequent welfare enquiries) to ensure that the Solicitor to the Council can find safe passage for our collective efforts through the Courts if indeed, that is what proves necessary. Sometimes, of course, apparently well-entrenched travellers will move on quite unexpectedly of their own volition."

It will be interesting to see how quickly action is taken but, as the local WC member, I will ensure that steps are taken sooner rather than later.