How to prevent travellers moving onto your land

As a landowner, you want to do everything in your power to protect your land from travellers who may want to occupy it illegally. You need to keep in mind that if travellers occupy private land, it is the sole responsibility of the landowner to remove any unauthorised encampments. The police can only act under certain conditions, however in most cases the police whose resources are somewhat stretched, so they will confirm that it is in most cases a civil matter. The council Will only deal with encampments on public land, so it is essential to take measures that prevent travellers from moving onto your land.

Review the situation of the land

 The first step to take is to ensure that gates are locked, or large blocks placed in front of open land. Let’s however be honest, if travellers want to find a way onto your land they will, as a land owner you have to make it as difficult as possible to ensure that they move onto the next site. This is not nimbyism, but being realistic. 

Mounds and ditches

Mounds and ditches are two very effective ways to protect your land from travellers moving onto it. Place a couple of mounds strategically to secure the perimeter and infill any gaps between trees, so travellers cannot pass. Ditches work well in combination with mounds, as they are effective at filling gaps in the perimeter. 

Fencing and obstacles

Many landowners do not consider fencing when it comes to land security. This is because typically securing a plot of land with them will prove to be a costly endeavour, especially when it comes to a sizeable piece of land. However, given that there are lots of types of fencing to choose from, you may opt for affordable solutions such as wooden fencing, which offers a good level of protection while being appealing to the eye, but is can be easily broken down. If cost is not an issue, steel palisade fencing may offer an enhanced level of protection.

What to do if travellers are already on your land

If travellers have already set up camp on your land illegally, you will need to have them evicted. Luckily Able Enforcements can help with this matter by using Common Law. Once instructed by the landowners, Able will immediately attend the site in order to remove the trespassers. We always advise not to attempt to remove the travellers yourself as it is possible they can turn aggressive and violent putting you in harms way. As our enforcement officers are so experienced in dealing with the eviction of travellers, they know how to handle any form of aggression, or intimidation. It is even possible they have dealt with the same group previously and know the best methods to use.

We will first always request a police presence to ensure that there is no breach of the peace. Especially If there are any of the travellers committing a criminal offence and the police can act.

Once we have ensured the police are in attendance we will request the travellers leave, having issued the correct Eviction Notices and having served them on the travellers. If they do not comply, our Certificated enforcement officers are extremely experienced in dealing with Travellers, we can and do  remove them using no more than reasonable force, more often than not, the gift of the gab works every time.

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

If you need help with traveller evictions or making sure that travellers cannot move onto your land, then get in touch. We are a leading authority in the field of evictions and have over 20 years’ experience dealing with travellers. For more information contact us by calling 0345 366 0000 or fill out our contact form and we will reply as soon as we can.

Comments are closed.