Travellers have occupied a park in Reading for days on end, according to a neighbour.
Prospect Park in Tilehurst is one of the biggest parks in the town, and is known as a place for people to exercise.
It has also been occupied by members of the Traveller community on numerous occasions, who stay at the park in caravans.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service spotted seven caravans and seven towing vehicles during a visit to the park just before 10.30am today (Wednesday, August 13).
A dog walker said: “They were in another spot for 10 days, the council moved them and now they’re back. The trouble is they can leave a mess. And the council spends our tax on telling them to move and clearing up after them.”
Responsibility for the management of Prospect Park falls with Reading Borough Council.
A spokesperson said: “We can confirm an encampment of caravans and associated vehicles has arrived again in Prospect Park this past week. The Council has since visited the current encampment site and is in the process of serving a legal notice imminently for the encampment to leave the land. If the group ignore this, the Council will need to pursue the usual legal eviction process through the courts. We hope a hearing date could then be progressed as quickly as possible, but the Council is in the hands of the courts on how quickly a date can be secured.
“In the meantime, we are in communication with our Police partners who continue to monitor the situation. We would ask that residents with concerns around crime or anti-social behaviour associated directly with the encampment to report that to the Police on 101, TVP online or to ue@reading.gov.uk.
“The Council has in the past carried out various works across the borough to make it more difficult for encampments to gain access to parks and open spaces, including at Prospect Park where fencing was placed along the Tilehurst road side of the park and bunding was placed on the right side of the main road in the park.
“The Council continues to seek opportunities to meet both permanent and transit needs for gypsies and travellers, but options within Reading are very limited and it is highly unlikely that a permanent site within our boundaries could be found. As such, we continue to work with neighbouring authorities to try to progress this matter.”
The council has been asked what action will be taken and how much it spent on tackling encampments in 2024/25, the last financial year.
It was previously revealed that the council spent more than £300,000 dealing with encampments over a five-year period from 2016 to 2021.
A dedicated site for Travellers to occupy with seven pitches in Island Road, Whitley was approved by councillors in 2022 but scrapped last year following concerns over flooding.
Other places Travellers have been known to occupy include Granville Road in Southcote, the Morrisons car park in Whitley and the Aldi car park at Reading Gateway.
