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Now Travellers move on to academy site
Reporter: Richard Hooton
Date online: 10 September 2009
TRAVELLERS have moved on to a site intended for one of Oldham’s Academy Secondary Schools in Hollins.
Residents say that not long after Brook Mill, on Hollins Road, closed in preparation for the development a group of six caravans moved in.
The mill was closed on Friday and the travellers began to occupy the site yesterday.
One neighbour said: “Residents are up in arms. No sooner were they closing the mill and contractors boarding it up — which seemed very sudden — than travellers had moved on to the site.
“Someone must have been going around scouting. They drove up the road on to Oak Colliery’s open fields and on to the site. They are trespassing. They have moved on to a site that’s owned by the council.”
A council spokesman confirmed the land is now owned by the local authority and that the legal process had begun to remove the travellers. It is hoped they will have gone by tomorrow.
This is the latest in a long line of encampments in Oldham, provoking anger from residents and councillors.
A fortnight ago, travellers were evicted from St Anne’s School fields in Royton. They left the land a sea of churned up mud that will cost thousands to restore. A mechanical digger was used to get one of the caravans off the site.
The group then moved to the road at the side of Snipe Clough playing fields, while schoolchildren returning from their summer holidays were left with grounds that were described as looking more like a battlefield.
It can take up to five working days to get a court order to move travellers on and the case prompted calls for new laws to deal with them.
Oldham Councillor Mark Alcock said he would speak to other councils in the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) to urge the Government to grant extra powers.
In 2007, council clean-up costs soared to more than £50,000 after travellers rolled up at three sites, including Snipe Clough playing fields which cost £40,000 to repair.
Christian charity Oasis will run the academy, to specialise in maths, computing and business and enterprise, which will replace Kaskenmoor School and South Chadderton.
Comments
Hollinwood Councillors immediately took action last night to have this encampment moved on
"A mechanical digger was used to get one of the caravans off the site."
Why? Why wasn't the thing just smashed up? Or confiscated and used as a store room. Why are the council not impounding vehicles to the value of the damage caused?
Why does it take so long to move these peopleon. why can't the council use health and Safety laws to deal with them as they always leave every place in a mess
oh what a suprise! i wish ombc would get a backbone and deal with these in a stricter manner. confiscate caravans, vans. impose fines. these lot cost us thousands with the mess and crime the bring. deal with them properly and maybe they wont come back.
Here we go again the travellers are back and will no doubt leave another pile of rubbish for us town folk to pay for why does it have to takee five days to move them on .if i was parked up in my car somewhere i am sure i ould be moved on or even get a parking fine .
so why can this type of law not be applied to the travellers can some body please tell me if you can
Why do we keep accepting these situations? Why can no-one act upon anything, within a timescale linked to human existence? Why does it take five working days to get a court order? What is, whoever issues them, doing, that takes five days of work? Are they engraved in finest gold leaf on ancient hand made parchment by a blind man using a bent nail.Or are they are outsourced, perhaps, to a court order centre in New Delhi? It only took God six days to do everything else!
Why does it take five working days? because Central Government dictate this. What are they doing, that takes 5 days? Following guidence derived from the CJ&PO Act 1994(issued by the Government). Are they engraved in finest gold leaf etc? No just A4 80g/m2 paper. Or are they are outsourced, perhaps, to a court order centre in New Delhi? No, drafted by Council and signed by Magistrates. It only took God six days to do everything else!Council staff do not possess God-like powers...unfortunately.
A perfectly good mill to be demolished for an academy the people of Oldham have repeatedly and overwhelmingly rejected but which will be pursued by the zealots in the council. Don't forget to vote them out next year.
To those who asked, They cannot smash up the equipment or confiscate the caravans as the law does not allow them to. They would also then have to rehouse the families because they are homeless.They would still be responsible for their welfare and their childrens education needs, at a cost to us all,(but not so if they move them on) The courts impose fines,not OMBC.. THEY ARE LAWLESS AND UNTOUCHABLE in new labour's broken Britain
Do you not think that it would be cheaper and more productive in the long run to provide them with a site with basic toilet and waste facilities? I reckon it would save a massive amount of money...might even be able to do weekly bin collections again with the money saved from cleaning up after the illegal sites. How many bin rounds would £60,000 pay for do you think?
Have Your Say
Lets see if there is any fly-tipping and lets see if the council do anything about it.
By BrierleyofRoyton @ 10/09/2009 12:26:06