TRAVELLERS who spent Christmas and New Year on an illegal site in the town centre were due to be evicted today (Wednesday).
The group arrived on the site at the corner of Wellington Road and Cromwell Road in Ellesmere Port on Friday, December 14.
To date, 19 caravans are there. They have been provided with skips and toilets, which they are paying for themselves, by the borough council.
As soon as they arrived the Travellers were ordered to move by authorities, but refused.
The council was forced to apply for a County Court order to move them, but bailiffs were not working over Christmas and will not be able to enforce the order until today at the earliest.
This has left many nearby residents frustrated and, last week, some told us how they were worried about the security of their properties.
One man, who wouldn’t be named, said: “I haven’t left our house over Christmas. I have even had to cancel a New Year event because of this.
“Residents feel Christmas has been ruined.”
He felt so strongly about the issue he went to the council offices on Friday, December 21, and refused to leave until he had met a senior officer.
Police promised to step up patrols in the area. Other residents say that, apart from running a generator, there have been no signs of anti-social behaviour from the Travellers over the holiday.
