WICOR RECREATION GROUND CLEAN-UP COSTS REVEALED
I can confirm that the cost to the Council for cleaning up after travellers at Wicor Rec was approximately £3,300. This included staff and vehicle deployment, portable toilet costs, waste disposal costs and the replacement of two broken locks. 1.5 days were spent cleaning up the site, with 12 tonnes of waste removed. In addition the Enforcement team spent the equivalent of 1 officer for 2 days dealing with the issue and our application to the court cost £355
Going forward Streetscene has installed a filled skip at the site entrance as a temporary measure whilst we arrange for lock protection to be installed on the gates to make it much harder to break the locks off in future. When the lock protection is in place the skip will be removed to allow all usual maintenance operations of the site to continue.
The Council’s operatives were faced with the most appalling task cleaning up after this incursion. It is regrettable that these people choose to behave in such a thoroughly disgusting fashion which included spreading their excrement across our public open space. I am pleased for the sake of local residents that we achieved their removal within just 3 working days. The sooner the government changes the law to make trespass a criminal offence the better as the law is currently an ass – trespass is a criminal offence in the Palace of Westminster but not here in Fareham.
