Churches Network for Gypsies, Travellers and Roma
Mr Michael Cooper
Municipal Buildings
West Street
Boston
Lincolnshire
Dear Mr Cooper,
“Illegal traveller encampments to face prison or £2k fine”
We note from an article in the
Boston Standard on 4th
April that Boston Borough Council has experienced problems with
unauthorised encampments of Gypsies and Travellers and has
consequently sought and been granted powers to compel those involved
in future to move on or face either prison or a fine.
We do appreciate, as do many in the
Gypsy and Traveller communities, that nobody wants messy and
anti-social neighbours. However, we would respectfully point out
that not all encampments are so undesirable, and that the major
problem with your policy is that those encamped may not have anywhere
that they can move on to, owing to the widely acknowledged
under-provision of sites throughout the country.
We suggest that consultation with
the Lincolnshire Gypsy Liaison Group might in future enable you to
come to agreed solutions without the need for a constant round of
evictions, leading to increased community tensions. Where Gypsies and
Travellers have been allowed to camp peacefully for short periods in
areas known to us, good relations have been established with both
local residents and the local authority, and people have moved on
when the reason for their presence no longer prevails. In Romani,
New Traveller and Irish Traveller cultures, there are recognised
techniques for ensuring that an encampment does not scar the local
landscape. There are also local authorities who have, by consulting
with those arriving in this way, been able to ensure that rubbish and
litter is avoided or kept to a minimum.
It is our view that tension and
hostility is stoked up rather than ameliorated by policies and news
stories couched in wholly negative terms. In our experience, this
rebounds especially harshly on Gypsy and Traveller children resident
in the area and seeking to gain an education there. Resident adults
who are responsibly fulfilling their roles in your community will be
less likely to self-identify as Gypsy or Traveller, with the
consequence that positive experiences of interaction with these
minorities will go unnoticed and unappreciated.
Should you wish for more information about any of the points raised
here, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are a national network
of ordained and lay Christians from a variety of different
denominations, committed to aiding understanding and acceptance of
Gypsies, Travellers and Roma.
Yours truly,
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