Letter: Effingham Trustees and Police Reaction to Traveller Incursion Has Been Correct

Published on: 27 Aug, 2017
Updated on: 27 Aug, 2017

From Liz Hogger

Trustee with Effingham Village Recreation Trust and Lib Dem borough councillor for Effingham

There has been an interesting range of comment on The Dragon following the articles about the Traveller incursion on the King George V Playing Fields in Effingham.

The letter from Revd Mandy MacVean, pointing out there is good and bad in every community, was a timely reminder that we should not judge a whole community by the wrong actions of a few. In stark contrast, there is a very rude and silly letter from L Wyatt calling my approach “weak-minded and naive”, and the actions of Surrey Police and the authorities “pathetic”.

The KGV fields are a much-loved beautiful open space in the heart of our village, and it is understandable that people feel passionate about it, and angry about the incursion. But that is no excuse for aggressive speech and actions which could shatter the peace in our village community.

King George V Playing Fields at Effingham – still “calm and beautiful”. Photo – Liz Hogger

The trustees do spend time talking to the Travellers; our conversations are amicable and helpful and fully in line with my own experience of the hospitality which is actually typical of the Gypsy community.

We liaise closely with Surrey Police, who are frequent visitors seeking to keep the peace in the interests of both residents and Travellers. It is quite wrong to suggest the police could or should be doing more; this is private land, albeit owned by a charity, and the trustees are confident the police are doing all within their powers.

This approach has definitely paid off, as can be seen from the photograph taken at the KGV yesterday. The fields remain a calm beautiful place with children on the playgrounds, customers at Loolabells Outdoor Kitchen and residents walking their dogs in the sunshine.

The Travellers’ caravans are tucked away at the far edge of the fields, and there is scarcely any litter to be seen. We could do without the inevitable quad bikes, but this situation would be far worse if we had taken a confrontational approach. I’ve had several conversations with village residents who thoroughly support the Trustees’ actions and many are pleasantly surprised by their first personal interaction with the Gypsy community.

This does not mean the trustees are being weak – we have a responsibility to protect the KGV and we are taking determined action to evict the Travellers as soon as possible. Within an hour of the Travellers’ arrival we took legal advice, and by the end of the afternoon we had instructed our solicitors to start the legal process to gain a possession order. Notices have now been served, and the case is listed at Guildford County Court on 4th September, the earliest date we could get.

In the meantime the trustees’ approach means the KGV Fields remain calm and beautiful, and fully open for use by residents, and we are trying to make sure that continues. Regular updates on the situation can be found on the KGV website https://www.effinghamkgv.co.uk/noticeboard/

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