Travellers: £800,000 in five years (From Witney Gazette)

Travellers: £800,000 in five years

9:00am Wednesday 11th October 2006 in Witney By Giles Sheldrick

ACCOMMODATING travellers in Oxfordshire has cost local taxpayers' more than £800,000 in five years.

The total bill for dealing with illegal traveller sites, and providing running water, maintenance and repairs at the county's six permanent sites - Standlake, East Challow, Oakley Wood, Redbridge Hollow, Sandford on Thames, and Wheatley - has been £827,000 since 2001/02.

Details emerged after the Witney Gazette used the Freedom of Information Act to inspect the files kept by Oxfordshire County Council, the authority responsible for looking after travellers.

County Hall has a duty of care towards travellers, and spends cash on clothing, food, and eduction, in addition to conducting welfare assessment, and on children.

However, the council said it was unable to reveal how much was spent on clothing, food, and eduction, because it 'does not hold this information'.

Earlier this year, the Gazette reported how Oxford, West Oxfordshire and Cherwell district councils all reported rises in illegal travellers sites - despite the introduction of new temporary stop notices, designed to prevent travellers moving on to sites without permission from landowners.

Across the county, there are 80 plots on six sites, catering for about 300 travellers.

In addition, there are seven privately-owned sites.

But despite the vast sum spent, Oxfordshire's director for community safety, John Parry, insisted the county was 'not soft on travellers'.

In a previous interview, he said: "If we were (soft on travellers), I would quite rightly be getting issues every day, because of conflict with the settled community - but that's not the case. We're reasonable if they're reasonable.

"If people's behaviour is outside the bounds of reasonableness, we will move them on, absolutely.

"Oxfordshire is making reasonable provision for travellers."

Under the Human Rights Act, travellers pitching up on county council-owned land are entitled to a welfare assessment, to assess their general health and well-being.

But County Hall has powers to order travellers to move on within 24 hours, and seek a court order if they do not. District councils are responsible for clearing up after travellers at illegal sites.

In March this year, a group of travellers was charged by police after returning to an illegal campsite in Kennington, after being given an eviction order.

Terence McDonagh, 20, of West Drayton, Middlesex, Simon McDonagh, 21, of Marlborough Road, Swindon, Bridget Lawrence, 27, of no fixed address, and James Frances Lawrence, 27, of Basingstoke Road, Reading, had been evicted by the authorities in Oxfordshire 30-times in ten months. They were convicted at Oxford Magistrates' Court under section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. Before the court hearing, members of the McDonagh family had said they wanted a permanent home, but could not find one.