Travellers have pitched up on the Stray in Harrogate for a second time this summer.
An encampment has appeared on a section of the parkland between Oatlands Drive and Stray Rein. Several vehicles are on site,
Harrogate Borough Council is the legal protector of the Stray. Asked if it was aware of the Travellers’ arrival, a council spokesman said:
“We are indeed and will be following the normal procedure to ensure they are moved on swiftly.”
The scene on the Stray today,
Read more:
- Travellers arrive on Oatlands Park in Harrogate
- Calls for more temporary sites for Travellers in Harrogate district
- Andrew Jones MP writes to Priti Patel about ‘law-breaking’ Travellers
A recent spate of arrivals by Travellers in the Harrogate district has led to calls to provide more designated temporary sites.
Six caravans and several cars arrived near to Oatlands Drive on the Stray in the week leading up to Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria.
Last month Travellers also pitched up on Oatlands Park, off Hookstone Road,
On both occasions, the council instigated legal proceedings and the Travellers moved on quickly.
But more friction occurred when Travellers parked on the old rugby field at Knaresborough this summer.
It prompted Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, to write to Home Secretary Priti Patel complaining of “disorder and anti-social behaviour completely off the scale compared to that associated with previous traveller encampments in our area”.