I have been to see the situation for myself and, since their presence is having a significant impact on the local community, I have contacted the Chief Superintendent and urged him to use his powers to evict the Travellers from the Park.

While the city’s strategy for Gypsies and Travellers is the responsibility of the Council, as a local MP,  I fully sympathise with many people’s deep concerns around unauthorised encampments in Brighton & Hove.

This has been an issue in the city for many years, and one that has only got worse since an earlier Tory government scrapped the requirements on all local authorities to provide authorised sites.

I have always made it clear that I utterly condemn any kind of violence, harassment, anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping and rubbish-leaving whoever commits it – Travellers or the settled community.

I know how frustrated people feel that their hard earned taxes are spent on clearing up after a minority of travellers, and I don't want us to simply do more of the same, at ever greater cost.

The current strategy just moves the problem of unauthorised encampments around the city in a pointless and costly game of cat and mouse.

We need a lasting solution, addressing the heart of the issue.

Two things would help:

According to official statistics, the vast majority of transit pitches in the South East are concentrated in Brighton & Hove. In other words, our city is meeting the vast majority of the region’s needs. That needs to change. We need a statutory duty on all local authorities to provide sites for Gypsies and Travellers, so the responsibility is more equally spread.

We need also to provide a permanent site, to free up the current transit site, so it can be used as originally intended.  This principle is one that has had the support of all three main political parties in the city, who have acknowledged that it would help deal with the problems of unauthorised encampments, since police have greater powers of eviction if there is somewhere for people to move to. It also makes it much easier to enforce payment for services and council tax.

It is regrettable that the current Transit site is not in a fit state to be used to its full capacity, owing to drainage problems.  I have urged the Council to remedy these as soon as possible. 

But arguing for the police to have more powers doesn’t address the root of the issue or provide a viable solution: it will just result in more money being poured into evictions.