Travellers have moved onto a field on the A505 next to the Pet Crematorium at Thriplow Heath.
There are currently 7-9 caravans that have been there since Thursday afternoon. Travellers unlawfully occupying land is a fairly common experience in Cambridgeshire, but this field is unusual because a High Court injunction preventing unlawful trespass was secured by the District Council in Feb 2009. The judge at the time was satisfied that there was a more than usual likelihood of an unlawful trespass at some point in the future.
So in other words, there is already a high degree of legal protection here and there has been for over seven years. The consequence of this powerful legal protection is that failing to move off this land is contempt of court, liable to a fine or ultimately imprisonment.
The district council enforcement officer has been out to serve a notice of the court order on the occupants of the caravans and trailers. There will be a return visit tomorrow, Monday morning, to see if the people have moved off the land. If they haven't then it will be back to the court to institute contempt proceedings.
Here's my blog post from 2009
I called the police this morning (Saturday) having been alerted by people at Thriplow Heath about what was happening to a field there. South Cambs secured a High Court Injunction on the field in February. (Click on words to go to Royston Crow article). The injunction, which was not easily secured, and had to satisfy a high level of proof, was because SCDC believed that travellers were then about to occupy the site unlawfully. It has been quiet from then till now.
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