Locals have been left furious after Travellers took over a beauty spot on the hottest day of the year. About 20 caravans and mobile homes turned up at Woodgate Valley County Park in Bartley Green, Birmingham, on Monday (June 30). It comes after a group of travellers left the 450-acre park on June 12.
Kerry Brewer and Bruce Lines, local councillors for the area, said the situation was frustrating and they would look to get them evicted. The pair also told the Birmingham Mail they fear there is a risk of fires from appliances used by the travellers outside amid temperatures in excess of 30C.
The country park is a designated local nature reserve in the middle of Bartley Green and Quinton.
Woodgate Valley boasts meadows, woodland, ponds and the River Bournbrook, which runs through its idyllic landscape.
Birmingham City Council has said it is committed to protecting its land and will take steps to recover it where unauthorised encampments appear.
The local authority has said: “The council has useable transit sites and plots for use by the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community – which is in line with Government policy.”
News of the encampment in Birmingham comes after locals voiced their anger when a weekly Parkrun was cancelled due to an illegal traveller encampment appearing overnight.
Bournemouth Parkrun, which is held every Saturday morning near AFC Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium, was called off on Saturday (June 28) after volunteers discovered caravans and vehicles occupying key sections of the route.
A group of travellers sparked outrage in June after buying a six-acre green belt field near Burtonwood, Cheshire, turning it into a gravel car park in just 72 hours.
Before and after photos showed how the plot was dramatically altered over the late May Bank Holiday weekend. In just three days, a 10-foot-high wooden fence was raised around the boundary, and half the field was covered with hardcore and gravel.
Community events were cancelled in May when a group of travellers set up camp at a family park. Over just a few weeks, this was the third time an encampment appeared at Swanshurst Park on the outskirts of Moseley and Billesley.