Glenrothes man takes drastic action to move on travellers
A Glenrothes businessman has taken matters into his own hands to stop a group of Irish travellers setting up home on his land.
- By Aileen Robertson
- Published in the Courier : 28.05.10
- Published online : 28.05.10 @ 05.02pm
Andrew Davie brought in mechanical diggers to tear up the ground at Eastfield Industrial Estate to force as many as 20 caravans off the site.
He said he wanted to make absolutely sure the travellers did not return.
Mr Davie said, "It feels wrong that I have to go to this extreme, but I don't have any choice.
"Fife Council wants nothing whatsoever to do with this.
"It has chased them off its ground onto our ground and it's costing me a lot of money to keep these people off."
Digging up the land will cost around £3000, said Mr Davie, who claimed he was left with a £10,000 bill for legal fees and cleaning up the site after the last group of travellers moved on.
He added, "They have to go someplace, but it is the council's responsibility. Officials are washing their hands of it.
"This needs to be exposed because this is going to happen again and again to other people."
Problems for council
The travellers have been causing a headache for Fife Council because of their numbers.
The local authority has gained two High Court injunctions in the past week to have them moved on.
There is nowhere for them to go in Fife because all three of the region's permanent travelling sites — at Cupar, Kirkcaldy and Kelty — are full and there are no temporary stop-off sites.
John Mills, senior manager for housing management and homelessness, said even if there were temporary sites the council would never be able to accommodate an encampment of that size.
He said, "This is a particularly large group. Most encampments have six caravans, but this one has about 20.
"There is nowhere for them to go because our three permanent sites are full at the moment."
Last week, the Irish travellers descended on council-owned land next to the golf course in Auchterderran, prompting the local authority to go to the High Court for a 24-hour injunction.
They then moved to Gilvenbank Park, in the north of Glenrothes, over the weekend and were again evicted by the council on Tuesday evening.
Mr Mills said he did not know where the group was, and it was possible that they could turn up somewhere else in Fife.
Public complaints
He said, "This is of concern because it is such a large encampment.
"We've received complaints from members of the public and the council has an obligation to look after other citizens who want to use amenities."
He added, "Fife Council is actually trying to find stop-off sites and has set up a gypsy travellers working group to try to identify sites.
"At the moment there are no official stop-off sites.
"The gypsy travellers themselves are not interested in working with us and want to stick together."
Meanwhile, Mr Mills urged Mr Davie not to take matters into his own hands.
He said, "We would urge the landowner to seek legal advice before taking the law into his own hands.
"We are more than happy to speak to him and advise him about the legal action he might be able to take."
09.23pm - 26.08.2011 Jamie Wishart - Cardenden , Scotland Report This
Andrew Davie is a hero and should have his money that he has lost because of the travellers refunded by the council who,s responsibility it is to deal with the travellers.we have 3 sites the ENOUGH
Add a comment