On the 27th July 2016, a group of travellers set up camp on council-owned parkland next to a main road in Sevenoaks. These travellers and their caravans were quickly escorted away in the space of a few days. However, in mid-August, they returned but this time, left something behind...

On the first occasion, in July, the holiday-makers vacated Brittains Meadow, leaving no reminder that they had been there other than a few marks on the grass from their motor-homes. Witnesses reported that there were at least 15 caravans and the travellers in question spoke German. 

A Sevenoaks resident, Neil Gordon stated, "I saw a very large group of travellers - lots and lots of them - as I was on my way to the station."

On the second occasion, on 14th August, police were called to move them on, which they did reluctantly. After their two days on the land, they bagged up all their domestic rubbish but instead of putting it in a bin a few metres away, they left it next to the road. Adding to this, they left behind human excrement in the nearby bushes, out of site. Within a few days, this human waste was spread over the path from children and dogs walking through the bushes, emitting a foul odour.

Sevenoaks Town Council had to pay for the removal of these travellers and the clean-up of the land, costing the Council over £1200.

When the travellers returned for the third time in December 2016, the Council decided that something had to be done to prevent the travellers from returning. Councillors agreed to place posts alongside the road to prohibit them from gaining access again. 

A spokesman for the Council, Linda Larter, said the council had been searching for something that would "deter travellers but at the same time retain the open space" and this was the answer to their problem.

However, the posts did not come cheap. Overall, the project, completed on 5th January, included over 135 posts, each with a price of more than £75, coming to a total cost of over £10,000.

Last week, Sevenoaks Town Council proposed to turn a former animal sanctuary near Knockholt Railway Station into a gypsy caravan site. Due to their failure to provide land for travellers, it has been given the green light to go ahead. 

So, is it fair that the Council had to pay a large sum of money for travellers that paid nothing for their accommodation and did not clean up after themselves?