RESIDENTS living adjacent to a country park where Travellers were encamped for almost two weeks have acknowledged the way they behaved while on the site.

While clearly stating they would prefer the Travellers were not there at all, the aftermath of the lengthy encampment on Beacon Field – part of the Thurrock Council-managed Langdon Hills County Park – has not proved as bad as they might have feared, or others have painted.

Thurrock Nub News has reported at some length on a number of Traveller incursions in recent days, including the arrival of a number of Traveller families at Beacon Field two Sundays ago.

While the encampment is unauthorised, sources have advised Thurrock Nub News that the park might have been suggested as suitable to take a number of Travellers who were grouped closely together on another encampment in Rayleigh.

Local councils and the police have been mindful in recent weeks of government guidance about encampments during the coronavirus pandemic, which suggest a level of tolerance should be shown.

Whatever the reasons why they arrived, they stayed for a considerable time before pulling out en-mass yesterday afternoon (Saturday, 13 June).

Soon after they departed, Basildon and Essex County councillor Kerry Smith – an ardent campaigner against Traveller encampments – called on Basildon Council to move in and clear up the rubbish left on the site and send the bill to Thurrock Council.

He said: "Can we send the clean-up bill to remove the truck load of rubbish and to litter pick the items covered in human-faecal matter that was strewn across the grassed areas be billed directly to Thurrock Council?

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"Thurrock Council are paid by Essex County Council to manage this car park and it can't be left in this dreadful condition while we wait for Thurrock Council to take charge of the clean-up."

However, Cllr Smith's perception of the state of the site may have been exaggerated. While there is one large pile of rubbish, including a mattress, assembled close to the park entrance the other smaller piles of debris – one of which does contain soiled nappies and used toilet wipes – were gathered together by residents last evening to help with its removal.

"One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "Experience from clean-ups after previous encampments told us that the council clean up teams don't always get stuff out of the hedge bottoms, and they leave stuff to rot down which we don't want, so to make sure it's cleared properly, we donned gloves and cleaned up the hedges ourselves.

"To be honest, this lot of Travellers have not been too bad. We would prefer they weren't here of course, but they were a lot better behaved than others in the past and they have left the site in a reasonable condition, thought the areas affected by a couple of bonfires that were lit will take time to recover."

Representatives of the local Conservative group, including a member of the office of South Basildon and East Thurrock MP Stephen Metcalfe, visited the site today to see its condition.

They, and other visitors to the park, were not able to access the car park, which has been locked by Thurrock Council's park rangers to prevent any further incursions until they replace wooden bollards which were removed by the Travellers to get onto the grass.

Thurrock Nub news understands a meeting has been called next week of leaders of councils across South Essex to discuss how local authorities might deal with further Traveller incursions and possibly to try and create a region-wide enforcement policy.