If your land is easy to access, it is easy to occupy.
Once an unauthorised encampment is established, the situation quickly spirals out, becoming disruptive, time-sensitive, and expensive to resolve. For landowners, developers, local councils, and businesses, it is always best to prevent unauthorised access in the first place, rather than deal with the fallout.
This blog will provide you with the means to do so, with advice from traveller eviction specialists with over 30 years’ experience.
What makes a site a likely target for a traveller encampment?
From a travellers’ perspective, a good site is one that is easy to access and doesn’t appear to be strictly maintained or used often. Vacant plots, storage yards, car parks, development land, and compounds can all be vulnerable if a vehicle can enter quickly and settle before being noticed.
If you suspect your site is vulnerable, we recommend walking the boundary lines and assessing where a caravan, towing vehicle, or van can get through. Even if there are barriers, consider if they would be easy to remove or work around.
What can you do to stop unauthorised access from travellers on your land?
Physical security is by far the most effective way to prevent travellers moving onto land. Security doesn’t need to be people surveying the perimeters 24/7; just think of it as anything that makes entry more difficult, slower, and more obvious. For example:
- Strong metal gates with protected lock housings
- Height barriers at vehicle entrances
- Secure fencing around vulnerable boundaries
- Bollards, concrete blocks, or fixed obstacles to close off gaps
- Earth mounds or ditches
- Lighting, CCTV, and remote monitoring
- Regular inspections, especially on vacant land
If a site is especially exposed, fencing needs proper thought. Basic wooden fencing can act as a deterrent, but it is much easier to damage and work around. Steel palisade fencing is stronger and harder to climb, so it is better suited to more vulnerable land. Gates should have heavy-duty locks, protected lock housings, and secure hinges.
Further to this, side gaps, weak boundary lines, and areas where a vehicle could bridge a ditch or mount a verge are easily overlooked. Trees, hedges, and other natural barriers can help, but they shouldn’t be relied on if the site is otherwise easy to enter.
That said, preventative measures don’t need to be an eyesore. Mounds for example can be finished with topsoil, then planted or grassed to add to your landscaping. See the Somerset Council website for more specifics on how to set up these measures.
How can I make a site appear occupied?
You by no means need guards on every entrance, but it should be clear that the land is monitored and managed on a regular basis. Visible CCTV, motion-activated lighting, warning signs, and regular visits will greatly reduce the odds of a traveller encampment.
It is not ideal to leave the site empty for long stretches, but if it is unavoidable, perhaps request local businesses, neighbours, and staff know who to contact if they see anything suspicious.
Do I need to consider planning permission?
Planning permission can be relevant if you’re making significant changes to your land as part of preventing unauthorised entry.
That might include installing permanent barriers, carrying out major groundworks, or changing access arrangements, especially if you’re near a public highway, share access, or are in a sensitive location. Preventative measures should protect your site, but they still need to be lawful and appropriate, so always inquire as to what (if any) paperwork is needed first.
What if travellers have already moved onto my land?
If your measures weren’t enough to deter them, or it’s already too late and there is a traveller encampment onto your land, don’t panic. The most important thing is to not act with haste or take the matter into your own hands, because the wrong approach could cause legal repercussions. So, don’t attempt a DIY traveller eviction, do not use excessive force, and never hire unlicensed or unscrupulous enforcement agents.
If your land is private, encampments are normally a civil matter, meaning the Police and local authority powers will be limited without evidence of wider criminal behaviour or serious disruption. In other words, it is up to you to start the process, which can be done by simply asking them to leave, or ideally by serving an eviction notice.
If they still refuse to leave, legal action can occur, which may involve common law, a court order, and/or enforcement by a High Court Enforcement Officer. It all depends on the site, the scale, the risks, and the chances of the situation escalating. For a more thorough breakdown of what to do at each stage and how, we have written another blog focused on the eviction aspect of travellers.
If you need help to remove travellers from private land, that is a long-standing area of specialism at Able Investigations. We are the trusted and licensed choice for councils, businesses, and private landowners in Bristol, Somerset, and beyond. We act firmly, lawfully, and with a focus on resolution, not unnecessary conflict. Find out more about our services.
What if my land has been encamped before?
Previous occupation can make a site more vulnerable to repeat incidents. That is why preventing entry (or re-entry) should form part of your plan from the start. Always inspect your land as soon as an encampment has been cleared. Broken fencing, damaged locks, unsecured gates, rubbish, and debris should all be dealt with as a priority. Leaving the site in poor condition not only makes it more attractive for future unauthorised access, but also creates safety and liability issues for the landowner.
Also, review how the encampment happened. Was there a side entrance that had been overlooked? Were barriers too easy to remove? Was the land left unattended for too long? If weak points aren’t addressed, they will continue to be exploited.
If our team has aided in the eviction process, we are more than happy to provide professional advice and recommend what we would do to secure your site for good. We also provide a full post-eviction clean-up service.
To Conclude
The best way to deal with traveller encampments is to stop them from happening in the first place. If your land is easy to enter or appears unmaintained, the risk of unauthorised access is much higher, but there are a great deal of precautions you can take that make a real difference.
If travellers do move onto your land, act quickly and take advice before the situation becomes harder to resolve. Able Investigations has over 3 decades of specialism in traveller eviction, common law enforcement, and the lawful removal of unauthorised encampments, and in that time we’ve seen and tackled it all, including aggressive and large-scale operations. If you need support securing a vulnerable site or dealing with an encampment already in place, our team is always on hand, so get in touch today at 0345 366 0000 or via our online contact form.
