Across the UK, there’s a housing crisis with people having to wait for long periods to get to the top of the list. This has created a knock-on effect onto the travelling community with fewer authorised sites than ever before.

This has meant that there’s an increasing number of travellers who are setting up home on unauthorised areas of lands, including car parks and playing fields. The rise in these incidences has not been insignificant, with some parts of the country experiencing hundreds of unauthorised encampments in recent years.

The clean-up operation often takes a heavy toll financially, costing tens of thousands to repair the damage and return the land to its former state. For this reason, it’s essential to take swift action.

Trying to deal with travellers on your own is highly inadvisable. With a shortage of sites to move to, you’re likely to meet resistance and there’s a strong possibility that the situation could quickly escalate. This could create a dangerous confrontation with a risk of violent conflict.

Enforcement officers have many years of experience in removing travellers from unauthorised sites and can bring a rapid resolution.

Benefits of an enforcement service

Here are some of the benefits of using enforcement agents to remove travellers from your land.

Quick response

Within the UK, the legal landowner has the right to remove any trespasses from their property. You don’t need to go to court to get permission and the law grants you the right to use reasonable force where necessary.

As explained above, tackling this yourself could be highly dangerous and end in injury, or worse. Enforcement agents can be instructed by landowners to remove travellers, using their rights under common law.

This is a speedy, quick and hassle-free method which means your land will be free of travellers almost as soon as they’ve arrived.

Prevents escalation

Everyone in the UK deserves a place to call home, and one of the big problems facing the traveller community is there’s simply not enough sites to go around. This shortage is one of the major contributors to the growing trend to revert to using any land available.

This means that if any camp manages to become established, there’s a strong possibility that more travellers will arrive. This pattern will continue as word spreads among family and friends that a suitable site has been found.

The more travellers that need to be evicted, the harder the process can be. It’s therefore vital to take action as quickly as possible to prevent the numbers swelling. If you turn a blind eye to just a few caravans or trailers, you may well end up very shocked at how quickly the size of the site grows.

Limit damage

Trailers, caravans  and their accompanying vehicles can do considerable damage to grass and soft land. With the constant driving back and forth, a playing field that was previously in good condition can be completely destroyed by the traffic.

It’s not just the vehicles that cause the damage. A large travelling community often leaves behind a large amount of mess. This includes litter and also human waste, a situation that needs to be properly cleaned up to prevent the spread of disease and bacteria.

Acting quickly will ensure that you limit the amount of damage that occurs, saving you money on tidying up your land. The longer the travellers stay and the larger the camp grows, the more damage which is likely to occur – and that means a considerable cost.

Enforcement agents are experts

Enforcement agents have dealt with many cases over the years and are experts in removing travellers from unauthorised sites. Authorised by the Ministry of Justice, enforcement agents can make sure the whole process is undertaken properly and lawfully from beginning to end.

This means that before anything else, a full Health and Safety Assessment will be undertaken to identify the risks and hazards and to ensure the very best possible outcome. With specialist equipment designed to deal with site evictions, enforcement agents are familiar with every step of the process.

Prevent further occupation

Once the travellers have been removed from your land, it’s a good idea to ensure there’s no chance of any return. There are measures you can take to secure your site and make it much more difficult for trailers and caravans to gain entry. These include erecting bollards, using fences or secure gates as well as embankments and trenches.

An enforcement agent may be able to suggest more specific measures you can take to prevent a recurrence.

You can find more information and tips about Traveller removal by clicking on the ‘Removing travellers: The complete guide‘.

Contact the experts

If you’re experiencing problems with travellers on your land, Able Investigations can help. We are a nationwide firm of enforcement agents and can help with travellers, squatters or trespassers on your property. To find out how we can help, call us or use our contact form.