Derbyshire council begins new eviction proceedings against unauthorised Traveller encampment

The council has a legal duty to accommodate members of a particular Romany Gypsy family with established connections to the district – but it has consistently failed to provide the required permanent pitching site where they could make a home.

For several years, the family has been forced to rotate between a series of agreed temporary sites, and in October they were permitted to return to the coach park at Matlock Bath station for a limited time only.

The council has also consistently failed to meet its legal obligations to provide temporary stopping points for Travellers passing through the area and, as has happened previously at other sites, the family’s caravans have been joined by other Traveller vehicles.

In response, council officers are now seeking court authorisation to evict those newcomers from the car park.

A spokesperson for the authority said: “The family to whom we owe a legal homeless duty have been given permission to use the location on a temporary basis until January 31.

“We are starting a legal process to remove the additional caravans that have created an encampment in the Matlock Bath car park in recent days.”

In a separate process, the council’s Traveller Working Group has been working with the family to investigate and evaluate a number of privately-owned alternative sites in the southern and central areas of the Derbyshire Dales.

It is expected to report its findings and recommendations to a meeting of the council on Thursday, January 26.

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