Travellers group set back chance of a result

AT some point, potentially before the year is out, the district council might finally commit to a piece of land that can be used for a family of travellers who are desperate to settle in the south of the Derbyshire Dales.

Every time the authority has identified a suitable plot, they’ve been met with incredibly strong opposition. Whether it be Ashbourne, Clifton, or Tansley, nobody seems to want to live next to a family of travellers.

It’s left the district council with an almost impossible task.

And that was before a group stormed into the town last week.

The number of reported incidents of crime and antisocial behaviour that we’ve seen since the group landed on the QEGS sports field on Tuesday night might never be attributed to the group of 13 caravans that finally accepted their marching orders on Sunday, but it led to a sense of fear in the town.

We found ourselves integrating with uninvited strangers who follow a different cultural roadmap to us, and we’ve all been shocked at the state the field was left in by the end of their stay.

If Derbyshire Dales District Council’s officers thought they had a tough job on, convincing us to welcome a family of travellers before this encampment, they’re now going to meet even stronger opposition at every turn.

Of course, this isn’t really fair. We know, having lived alongside them, that the family who wants to settle here is benign, but every mention of the word “travellers”, will now bring memories of the QEGS encampment flooding back.

So there are people in Ashbourne who will now never be swayed. One relatively small group of travellers has completely muddied the waters, before moving on somewhere else, leaving awful scenes in their wake.

And, while we should never tar all travellers with the same brush, it’s something we won’t forget in a hurry.