Littlehampton pays the price for travellers

The last group of about a dozen travellers left land next to HiTek Power Ltd, in Hawthorn Road, on Tuesday evening (August 6), after a court order was served on them by the company.

A second group, pitched-up on Rosemead recreation ground, left between Thursday evening and Friday morning – much to the relief of nearby residents.

Kirsten Connelly, of Dorest Close, said the park – owned by Littlehampton Town Council – had been left in a ‘right old state’, with a town council spokeswoman adding that human waste had been found on areas of the children’s play park at Rosemead.

The spokeswoman said that around £200 had been spent on cleaning the site after the travellers left the open space.

However, Arun District Council announced that it has been forced to spend hundreds more on employing contractors to clean up The Green, which was the first site the travellers moved onto, more than two weeks ago.

Arun spent a total £560 removing waste, plus an additional £45 on fencing repairs.

The council incurred officer time dealing with welfare checks, serving notices, preparing the court case and attending court, as well as having to stump-up £175 to pay for court costs.

The authority’s legal team was also involved in supporting the town council’s legal action to remove the travellers from Rosemead.