After Sellors’ Recreation Ground twice became a temporary home to members of the travelling community over the summer the latest Ruddington encampment is at the other end of our village.
SIX caravans rolled into the Visitor Car Park in Rushcliffe Country Park at around 10am this morning (Monday 1st October) and parallel parked near to the exit. It soon became clear they intended to remain longer than the maximum permitted 8 hour stay!
Rushcliffe Country Park Manager Keith Laing was alerted to their presence – who then reported it to Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC), which operates the facility. Rushcliffe Police were also informed.
Certainly there are now less easy opportunities for travellers to move into Ruddington after our Parish Council hired contractors to place large sandbags at entrances to its public open spaces to reduce the chance of further incursions.
RBC told us it’s now working with local services to move the latest travellers on. It’s expected they will be evicted by Thursday. Meantime the Council has moved to reassure visitors that most of the car park is still available to use as normal – and that the reduction of available spaces should not cause any parking issues midweek at this time of year.
UPDATE THU 4th OCT:
An eviction notice was served upon the travellers – warning that they would be forcibly removed this Friday morning if they did not leave of their own accord.
The travellers in fact departed this evening – and Rushcliffe Police have informed us they have moved on to Edwalton! Back in Ruddington, Rushcliffe Borough Council reports that the area of the car park where they’d set up home was left in a “good state” and that it’s “business as usual” – with no further issues to be resolved before this weekend’s influx of usual park visitors and participants in the Dawn or Dusk Run on Sunday.
