Travellers set to be moved on from Peterborough roundabout after two weeks

Around a dozen caravans set up the illegal camp at Mancetter Square earlier this month, causing anger among residents.

Today enforcement action is being carried out to move them to another site in the city, away from residents.

The council said they could only move the group on once a suitable site had been found.

The camp will be moved to Potters Way in Fengate, Peterborough, which has been made ready with water and sanitation. This will allow the 12 caravans to be temporarily sited safely and give the occupiers the ability to appropriately social distance to prevent the risk of infection.

However, one resident, who asked not to be named, said the action from the council had come ‘two weeks too late,’ and called for more security measures to be put in place at the Mancetter Square site to stop travellers setting up camp there in the future.

Rob Hill, Assistant Director: Community Safety , Peterborough City and Cambridgeshire County Council said; “Traveller groups are identified under current government COVID legislation as a particularly vulnerable group. We took a decision - with advice from Public Health - not to enforce a move until we identified an alternative place, which limited the nuisance to local people, was safe and where we could make sure that this group of people were both safe from the risk of further infection themselves, and would be able to reduce any spread elsewhere.

“The eviction notice is being served by us this morning, with the support of the police, which requires the group to move by 5pm tonight -- but as a council we cannot compel the traveller families to move to the area suggested.”

Any additional costs for services provided temporarily at Potters Way will be reclaimed by Peterborough City Council from the Government’s COVID-19 emergency fund.