Councillor Sterry
asked:
Could you please confirm how much it
has cost the taxpayer to clear up after the current travellers that
have been staying at various locations in Newport East?
§
Newport live sports ground car park
§
Christchurch viewpoint car park
§
Royal Gwent car park
§
Currently back at Newport Live sport ground car park
Could you also please explain to my
residents who keep asking the following questions
§
Why no prosecutions have been made for forced entry?
§
Why no prosecutions have been made for illegal fly
tipping?
§
Why are they not directed to stay at the traveller site in
Ringland?
Councillor Drewett
responded:
I am unable to comment regarding
costs incurred by Newport Live and ABUHB, however costs incurred by
NCC to clean and secure open spaces this year are in the region of
£5,000.
From a legal perspective, fly-tipping
is a challenging offence to prosecute due to the difficulty in
obtaining evidence of the source or depositor of the
waste. However, incidents of
fly-tipping are investigated by officers and where sufficient
evidence can be gathered offenders are pursued vigorously
(for example
https://www.newport.gov.uk/newsroom/2024/joint-action-three-gwent-councils-sees-serial-fly-tipper-sentenced).
Newport City Council’s site at
Ringland is not a transit site, for temporary stays, it provides
permanent pitches for households from the GRT community. It has
three pitches, all of which are currently let.
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