Travellers move council roadblock to set up camp

PERTH: Group who moved in at city’s flagship Food and Drink Park face a new legal challenge from the council after removing a roadblock with a digger to gain entry

Travellers who moved a concrete roadblock to set up camp at a prime Perth development site are facing a new legal challenge from council chiefs.

The hefty barrier was installed at the city’s flagship Food and Drink Park after a fleet of caravans arrived on site more than two months ago.

The group was initially given 24 hours’ notice to leave, but the Travellers were later granted a reprieve.

The site was blocked off when the land was briefly vacated earlier this month.

It is understood a digger was used to shift the blockade, allowing a fresh convoy on to the estate.

The local authority has pledged to serve a new legal notice on the group, ordering them off the land, and confirmed it will consider a new range of security measures to prevent future camps.

Travellers have returned to a multimillion-pound development site in Perth, despite efforts by council chiefs to block off the entrance.

Around a dozen caravans set up camp at the council’s flagship Food and Drink Park more than two months ago.

Perth and Kinross Council served notice on the group, giving them 24 hours to leave. However, the authority agreed to grant a reprieve from eviction when members promised to leave before the start of this month.

When the site was briefly cleared, local authority engineers installed three large concrete barriers at the entrances of the under-construction estate.

But the heavy barricade was shifted to allow a new convoy of about eight vehicles onto the site. It is believed a digger may have been used to move the barrier.

The council said it is now preparing to issue a fresh legal notice, ordering the group off the land.

Officers will also consider fresh ways to block off the site and prevent further camps.

A spokeswoman said: “We are aware that an encampment has recently been set up at the Food and Drink Park site after a period of vacancy.

“We will monitor the site and serve notice on the Gypsy/Travellers.”

She added: “Bollards have previously been installed to deter any encampments being set up and we will look again at these arrangements once the site has been cleared.”

Just weeks before the Travellers’ arrival, the council announced that construction work for the specialist Food and Drink Park would be completed next month.

The £1.8 million contract to build units on the site was awarded to Forfarbased Andrew Shepherd Construction Ltd. Work started on site in January and is expected to last 25 weeks.

The council also confirmed it has abandoned long-standing plans to establish a new dedicated halting site for Travellers.

It will instead put the £46,000 earmarked for the project into improving existing camps at Double Dykes, on the western edge of Perth, and Bobbin Mill in private woods at Pitlochry.

We are aware that an encampment has recently been set up at the Food and Drink Park site

Picture: Phil Hannah. Travellers have set up camp at a prime retail location in Perth.

Picture: Phil Hannah. It is believed a digger was used to shift concrete bollards erected to keep illegal encampments out.