North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott has warned that attempts to remove travellers from Harrogate’s Ashville College face “significant hurdles”.
Travellers parked at the fee-paying school’s rugby pitch on Tuesday evening and remain on site. A spokesman for the college said the travellers had indicated they were prepared to leave immediately if they received £5,000.
Now the school has said it may have to delay the start of the autumn term on September 8 if the travellers do not leave because of safeguarding concerns. The college has already had to relocate outdoor summer sports activities to indoors.
But any prospect of a swift resolution to the matter seems remote.
A spokesman for Ashville College told the Stray Ferret police officers said they were powerless to take action when staff got in touch because it is a civil rather than criminal matter.
The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Police about the incident but has not received a response.
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Harrogate Borough Council has said it is willing to give advice to the college but is also powerless to act because the encampment is on private land.
Mr Allott, whose job is to hold the police to account, told us police and local authorities were in a tricky spot when it came to travellers. He said:
“I know how frustrating it can be for residents who feel helpless when travellers arrive in their community, and how frustrating it can be for the police and local authorities who want to help but face significant hurdles doing so.
“The issue is that trespass is a civil offence and not a criminal offence. So if the encampment is on private land such as Ashville College, it is the landowner’s responsibility unless there are other crimes being committed.”
New law could speed up evictions
The situation may change if the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which is currently going through Parliament, becomes law.
The bill proposes making “residing in a vehicle on land without permission” a specific offence.
It will also give the police power to seize vehicles and speed up the eviction process for councils and private landowners.
Mr Allott, whose home town of Knaresborough has also recently been visited by travellers, added:
“Although the instigator of the initial complaint will still mostly be the local authority or landowner, it will mean that things will happen much faster and that they can also use the police for enforcement purposes instead of bailiffs.
“Frankly, these measures can’t come soon enough for many here in North Yorkshire and I continue to urge the Home Secretary to get these powers written into law as soon as possible.
“We must support residents, schools and sports clubs – who often suffer the most from the impact of these illegal camps.
“These changes would, I hope, also be welcomed by the vast majority of travellers who get an unfair and negative image despite the majority abiding by the law.”
