Travellers set-up in Apperley Bridge Railway Station car park

[whole diary]

[Lee]

From the Telegraph & Argus:

TRAVELLERS have set-up camp in a railway station car park, with more than 20 caravans.

The caravans are situated in the Apperley Bridge Railway Station car park and are spread right across the full length of it.

It is unclear as to the exact time that the vehicles arrived, but one local resident said they began arriving yesterday evening, with more caravans turning up today.

One of the ward councillors for the area said the council, police and British Transport Police (BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)) are aware and working on the situation.

Apperley Bridge Railway Station is a popular location for people to commute to and from Leeds and Bradford, from the surrounding areas such as, Greengates, Apperley Bridge, Calverley and Rawdon.

There were between 20 to 30 caravans parked up in the car park at around 2.35pm today.

Work vans could be seen coming and going from the area, believed to be part of the camp.

One caravan had a trailer next to it, with a mini-digger inside it.

Other members of the public were also driving in to use the railway station.

Councillor Jeanette Sunderland (Lib Dem and Independent Group, Idle and Thackley), Leader of The Liberal Democrat & Independent Group said: "Both the police and council and the BTP are aware.

"There are systems and processes that we have in place - we're working through those processes and have asked the council to make some provisions for car parking as people start to go back to work.

"Hopefully this is a stop-off point."

That got me thinking - Apperley Bridge station and its facilities are relatively new, as are the facilities at Melksham Hub. So what would happen if travellers set up there?

Dont get me wrong, there are key differences between the two sets of facilities. Apperley Bridge is well ahead in terms of integration with its large, free, well-used car park, and bus/rail interchange which has bus services calling from very early in the morning to very late at night, 7 days a week, compared to Melksham Hub's empty, paying, partially redundant car park, with no regular bus services calling at the station at all.

Leaving the above aside though, what really interests me is that the council, local police and BTP appear to have established systems and processes in place to deal with the situation, and provide alternative car parking for rail users in the meantime.

Are similar systems and processes in place should a similar situation occur at Melksham Hub?

[TaplowGreen]

Given the experience of our travelling "friends" moving in on our rugby pitches on several occasions over the last 20 years, I would be prepared for the Melksham station carpark being transformed into a rubbish strewn cesspit (literally) should a similar situation occur, and I would urge all locals within a 10 mile radius to nail everything movable down until they are well clear of the area.

Any attempt to move them on before they are ready to go (bear in mind the Police will not want to get involved), will result in threats of violence and/or accusations of racism.

Here's hoping it doesn't come to pass!!!

[broadgage]

I am sorry to say that I substantially agree with your negative views on travellers.
They seem to be a protected species and are very hard to lawfully remove.

A farm near me suffered from a traveller invasion. Neither the police nor the local authority were able to offer any assistance. Clearing up the TONS of rubbish left behind cost thousands of pounds, and was closely monitored by the local authority.

[broadgage]

Work vans could be seen coming and going from the area, believed to be part of the camp.

One caravan had a trailer next to it, with a mini-digger inside it.

Other members of the public were also driving in to use the railway station.

Councillor Jeanette Sunderland (Lib Dem and Independent Group, Idle and Thackley), Leader of The Liberal Democrat & Independent Group said: "Both the police and council and the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) are aware.

"There are systems and processes that we have in place - we're working through those processes and have asked the council to make some provisions for car parking as people start to go back to work.


Leaving the above aside though, what really interests me is that the council, local police and BTP appear to have established systems and processes in place to deal with the situation, and provide alternative car parking for rail users in the meantime.

Are similar systems and processes in place should a similar situation occur at Melksham Hub?

I can not speak specifically about Melksham, but yes I would presume that similar plans are in place.
Actually removing the travelers is seldom an option, the plans consist of alternative pick up and drop of points, relaxing parking restrictions in roads near the station, and providing extra staff to assist passengers.
Cash will be collected more frequently from ticket offices and machines to reduce the risk of robbery.

Any business, not just rail related ones, should have a "business continuity plan" this should include actions to take in the event of fire, flood, utility failure, pandemic, civil unrest, shortages of raw materials, and other foreseeable problems.
Up to date business continuity plans may specifically refer to traveler encampments, and even if they do not so refer, the subject would be partially covered by plans for access being restricted by flooding, collapsed road, unexploded bombs and the like.