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Unbelievable

Steve Kelly
24/ 7/2003

A POPULAR country park has been transformed into an eyesore after travellers used the site as a dumping ground.

Human waste, sanitary towels and burnt out furniture are among the junk left in Bowlee Country Park, off Heywood Old Road, Bowlee, after travellers invaded the site at the end of last month.

The group, which saw more than 50 caravans set up camp on the park's cinder track, was finally evicted on Monday, but a mass clean up operation undertaken by Rochdale Council looks set to cost taxpayers thousands of pounds.

David Woolrich, of Rochdale Council Environmental Management Department, said the mess was "completely and utterly unbelievable".

"There is every type of rubbish imaginable," he said. "It is an absolute disgrace and will cost taxpayers a fortune to clean up. We have had to take a lot of people off other jobs just to deal with the problem quickly."

Mr Woolrich added that the council had provided the group with four skips, but the travellers began using the land when the skips were full.

He also said the council was preparing to install tighter security measures to ensure the travellers cannot return.

"We will be putting up new gates and making them more secure than the last set," he added. "We certainly don't want a repeat of this and will do everything in our power to stop it in future." But nearby residents have criticised the council for allowing the group to stay on the site for three weeks.

Chairman of the Rhodes and Bowlee Environment Group, Les Pye, accused councillors of "dragging their heels" to evict the travellers.

"I cannot understand why it has taken so long to get them to leave," he added. "I'm sure that the council could've got an order to evict them much sooner than this. We have been approached by a lot of local residents who are appalled at the way this whole thing has been handled. It is an absolute disgrace.

"We have contacted the council several times to see what was happening, but that's about as much as we could do. The council really need to get this sorted properly. A lot of people around here feel very nervous about a possible increase in crime whenever travellers are around.

"The ridiculous thing is that we, as Council Tax payers, have to pay for this to be cleaned up. We need more action to guard against this type of thing."

A spokesman for Rochdale Council warned that travellers could return.

"There are no legal procedures to stop travellers from coming back to the park," he said. "We can either stop any cars from entering the site or go through the courts and get another eviction notice if they decide to return. Travellers are usually very clued up on the law and know their rights.

"We evicted them a few weeks ago. They did leave, but came back a few hours later. Unless we are given greater powers to permanently remove travellers, this will be a continual process that will pop up every year.