Unauthorised encampments of Travellers are happening on average every three to four days in Milton Keynes

This means council officials and police are ordering the camps to move from various locations, on average, twice a week, every week of the year.

But this year has been far better than 2018, when the problem was at its peak with 1167 unauthorised encampments - an average of more than three a day.

After the troubles two years ago, MK Council agreed an action plan to tackle the issue.

Funding of £250,000 was set aside to improve physical security at 34 "sensitive sites" identified in the city. All of these sites have been assessed and work has been undertaken in 32 of them.

At one particularly popular site in Tattenhoe, the council sought legal advice from barristers on having specific injunctions”against known offenders and also against ‘persons unknown’.

"Evidence was gathered and the injunctions were made and served on the named individuals, preventing them from setting up any encampments or engaging in any other anti-social behaviour, including cable burning," said council officers in a special report this week

Sadly, they added, the ‘persons unknown’ injunction was not successful.

More successful was a joint initiative by council's Environmental Crime Team, which works proactively with police, landowners, other partners and council departments to deal with unauthorised encampments "as quickly as possible", using the powers that are available to them .

"The council now has a clear procedure for dealing with unauthorised encampments which balances the potential threat, harm and risk presented by some unauthorised encampments with issues relating to vulnerability, welfare and safeguarding in relation to occupants," states the report.

Unauthorised camping is not a criminal offence. It is a civil offence, giving landowners the right to repossess their property using the due process of law.

Local authorities are required by a National Planning Policy Framework to meet the accommodation needs of Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople within Milton Keynes, and they must develop a strategy to address these needs.

There are currently 18 permanent pitches in Milton Keynes, including sites at Calverton Lane and Willen Road.

The Council’s local plan, Plan:MK, safeguards these existing sites and carries forward previous allocations for a permanent Travellers' site with eight pitches at Newton Leys, four additional pitches to be provided as part of an extension to the Calverton Lane site and an additional seven pitches to be provided in the South East Milton Keynes strategic site.

This year's numbers of unauthorised camps are down on previous years. This could be due to the impact of lockdown, say council officers.

"Although the overall decline in numbers cannot be attributed directly, the view is that the combined action taken and outlined below has made Milton Keynes a less attractive place for unauthorised encampments," states their report.

You can read the full report here