Bollards are to be installed along the length of Weston-super-Mare’s Beach Lawns - in a bid to prevent illegal traveller encampments. Around 500 wood effect bollards will be put in along the roadside.
The bollards, which are about a metre high, will be removable at entry points to the Beach Lawns to provide access for events. North Somerset Council has now agreed a contractor and it is hoped the bollards will be in place by mid-July, reports Somerset Live.
The news comes as yet another group of travellers have parked up on the lawns this week. A small group of travellers, with two caravans, a motorhome and other vehicles, arrived at the seafront site on Monday (June 6), parking at the end of the lawns towards Royal Sands.
READ MORE: Woman offering £100 reward for return of her Union Jack underwear mannequin sculpture
North Somerset Council, which owns the Beach Lawns, has issued the group with a direction to leave. However they remain on site today (Wednesday, June 8).
A North Somerset Council spokesman said: “On Monday we had an unauthorised encampment comprising of two caravans, one campervan and associated vehicles on the Beach Lawns. A direction to leave the land was served.”
If the group refuses to leave it is likely the council will have to apply to the magistrates court for an order to evict them. It is hoped that the installation of the bollards will be a permanent solution to the continued encampments of the seafront green space.
Council officers had been looking at a number of options to secure the Beach Lawns against encampments, including creating earth bunds along the perimeter of the site to stop vehicles getting in. But this idea was scrapped after it was decided the bunds would encroach too far into the lawns.
Weston councillor and North Somerset Council executive member for placemaking and economy Councillor Mark Canniford said: “We will be installing the bollards in the coming weeks and hope to have them in place by mid July. After consultation with organisers of events at the Beach Lawns it was felt that creating earth bunds at the site would eat too much into the space and narrow the lawns too much, causing issues for those holding events.
“We have been trying to source the bollards for a number of months but there have been delays due to supply issues and shortages of materials. However a contractor has now been found.
“The council has to deal with a number of illegal encampments at the Beach Lawns each year which are not only costly to clear up but also cause much frustration among locals. We believe the installation of the bollards was a sensible solution which should prevent further encampments.”
North Somerset is a popular stop off with travellers during the summer months when they arrive in the district looking for work. Currently the council has no transient sites for travellers where they can be moved onto.
However the district does offer a number of permanent pitches for the travelling community including the Willowmead site and a newly developed site at the Old Junction Yard, both in Weston-super-Mare. Height barriers were installed at the Melrose car park on the seafront two years ago after a series of unauthorised camps.
Want our best stories with fewer ads and alerts when the biggest news stories drop? Download our app on iPhone or Android
