Residents in Saughall say there are still ‘unanswered questions’ about why authorities allowed a convoy of travellers to camp on a popular cycleway for four days.
People living in houses nearby the path, situated on the Welsh border with Sealand, reached ‘the end of their tether’ after 12 caravans parked there last Friday afternoon, saying the travellers caused ‘chaos’ including loud noise, intimidating behaviour and litter mess.
The Saughall community breathed a sigh of relief when they were moved on by bailiffs employed by landowners Sustrans North West on Monday evening, but many are still angry at how long it took Sustrans and North Wales Police to evict them, claiming the authorities ‘didn’t give a monkeys’ about those living close by.
Simon Hyde, who lives on Yew Tree Avenue in one of the houses that run alongside the cycle path, said although they were glad that the travellers have left, there is still an ‘overwhelming sense of frustration’ from many people that it took so long.
He told The Chronicle: “North Wales Police were out many times over the weekend and the officers in attendance have been very understanding and deserve a thank you. However we’d like to know who made the decision to allow them access after Cheshire police had successfully blocked access and had halted the situation from escalating on Friday.
“We also now know that Sustrans only sought legal advice on Monday and not at any time before then. And as we were told would be the case, once they had instructed bailiffs, the travellers vacated within hours of their arrival. Had this action been taken by Sustrans on Friday at 12.00 when we made them aware of the arrival of the travellers we would have had them removed by nightfall.
“It would also have delivered a message to the traveller community that Sustrans will act swiftly and that their land won’t be a convenient weekend stopover,” he added.
“We’d like an explanation as to what was more important in the middle of a working day than dealing with a situation on their land that caused distress to hundreds of residents as well as hundreds cyclists and walkers.”
In a statement sent to The Chronicle, Sustrans said “The 12 traveller caravans which had unauthorised access to the Sustrans cycle path at Sealand, Chester on 17 April have been moved on peacefully.
“The caravans were there without our consent and Sustrans has been working with Flintshire County Council and local police to go through the formal process to evict the travellers.
“We employed the services of bailiffs who met with the traveller community on Monday afternoon and evening and advised them that they would be evicted and caravans towed away by 7.30am on Tuesday unless they moved on beforehand. We are happy to say that all the caravans left the cycle path late on Monday night without incident, and the gates were secured to prevent further access.
“Sustrans engaged the local authority to clean up litter and the team arrived on site on Tuesday morning. We have secured the entrances to the site and will install a more substantial gate as soon as possible.
“We would like to thank neighbours, local people, the council and police for their help, patience and support during this difficult situation.”
A North Wales Police spokesperson said they could say ‘very little’ about the matter, other than that it would be dealt with in Civil Court.
