Update on the unauthorised encampment in Ham

We are aware that the group of Travellers have returned to the borough late on Monday night and are now on King Georges Field. The group gained illegal entry by forcibly removing two concrete posts.

The group of Travellers first arrived on Ham Common in the evening of Friday 26 July after which we started welfare checks and the legal process to move them on. We issued court proceedings on Monday 29 July and successfully obtained an order and writ of possession to legally move the group from the Common on Thursday 1 August.

The group then went to the Hawker Centre which is in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. During this time, we remained in close liaison with the Police and our Parks Patrol Contractor.

As King Georges Field is a different site to Ham Common, we need to go back to court to obtain a new possession order for this individual site. We do not have a permanent borough wide injunction therefore this is the only legal process available to us at present.

We cannot get a blanket possession order for all green spaces in Ham, only where we have evidence of an unauthorised encampment. 

Welfare checks were carried out yesterday morning and evidence gathered to allow us to swiftly apply to the courts for a hearing on Friday. Proceedings were issued yesterday and will be served by bailiffs today which need to be displayed on site until the court hearing on Friday morning.

We hope to receive a new writ of possession on Friday afternoon from the court to allow us to proceed with eviction once again and subsequent clean-up operation.

How we secure our sites

All our sites in Ham are secure for their purpose, excluding Ham Common and Ham Riverside Open Space, with prevention in place to prevent unauthorised access. Ham Village Green has posts and rails, King Georges Field has concrete bollards and a bar gate, and Ham Riverside Pitches also has a bar gate. The unauthorised encampment trespassed onto King Georges Field by removing two concrete bollards.

The possession order still applies to Ham Common for six months, but only to this group of registered vehicles. Individuals have declined to give names so we can only apply the order to the vehicles.

How we minimise the impact on public land and the local area

We have contractors removing litter twice daily from the site and surrounding areas. After they leave, we will ensure all waste is removed and any damage is repaired. We are also regularly in contact with the Police to ensure they are monitoring the site for anti-social behaviour (ASB) and illegal activity. We encourage residents to report any ASB or illegal activity to the police.

The process for moving on unauthorised encampments on Council land

The following process is undertaken to move on encampments:

• Council receives notification of an unauthorised encampment
• Council Officers, Police or Parks Patrol Contractor attend site to carry out necessary welfare assessments and appropriate referrals, these include:
  • Traveller welfare needs
  • Safeguarding issues
  • Animal welfare issues
  • Risk assessments
• All relevant information is passed to our Legal Services who lodge paperwork with the court and subsequent court proceedings are issued, the swiftness of us being granted court proceedings is determined by the courts
• Court proceedings served on site (NB court rules require two clear days’ notice of the court hearing)
• Court hearing for possession order after 48 hours
• Once we have a possession order, we ask the court to issue a writ of possession, which is the authority to evict. We will ask the court to issue the writ immediately after the court hearing, and once issued, the eviction can proceed immediately.

How we prevent this becoming a regular event

With the assistance of our Legal Service (SLLP), we are working towards the application of a permanent injunction for sites where we have had unauthorised encampments over the past three years, this needs to be robustly evidenced. This is a lengthy process, and it is not guaranteed it will be granted by the court. 

What you should do while the Council goes through the court process

Please report any anti-social behaviour to the Police as soon as possible as this can support the court process.