An eviction order is being sought to remove travellers from council-owned Westminster Park playing field after the group failed to move in response to a legal notice.
Travellers in about 20 caravans set up camp in a field at the park on Sunday afternoon.
Cheshire West and Chester Council issued a legal notice on Monday (July 4) directing the travellers to leave by 1pm today (July 5) but as of 5pm they were still there.
Now the council is serving a court summons for a hearing at Chester Magistrates Court at 10am this Thursday (July 7) with the aim of seeking an order to force the travellers to leave ‘forthwith’ under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
A council spokesman said: “Following the servicing of a section 77 notice, the encampment has not left Westminster Park. The Traveller team are now in the process of serving the section 78 court summons, for 10am on Thursday 7th July.
“The encampment will continue to be monitored and visited by both the police and the Traveller team.”
One of the travellers, who did not wish to be named, told The Chronicle the group had come over on the ferry from Ireland.
They intended staying in Chester until the end of August because two women were about to give birth and to attend two weddings.
The traveller, who said he was accompanied by his sons and father-in-law, expected at least 100 caravans would descend on the park over the next few days with a nearby field earmarked for the overspill. However, this has not happened so far.
He confirmed police had visited and were ‘very nice’. The traveller appeared unperturbed at the prospect of an eviction order claiming it would take ‘at least a month’ to enforce.
