Travellers camped at Ashenbury Park could be evicted by Wokingham Borough Council.

Some 10 caravans and “associated vehicles” have pitched up at the park in Woodley. But a council spokesperson has confirmed that the authority is “working with bailiffs on eviction.”

It comes after travellers were also moved on from nearby Woodford Park on Wednesday, August 30. Travellers have also pitched up at Prospect Park in Reading.

Keith Baker, Wokingham Borough councillor for Coronation ward in Woodley, said the travellers had moved to Ashenbury Park after being moved on from Woodford by police.

He said the Woodley Town Council officers acted quickly after travellers pitched up at Woodford Park. He said: “The deputy town clerk got to know about it within minutes and contacted the police and Wokingham Borough Council about the incursion.

“In under 48 hours, which is pretty quick, the travellers were moved on. They then went to Ashenbury Park, which is owned by Wokingham Borough Council.”

He added that he had alerted Wokingham Borough Council to the encampment in Ashenbury Park, but that the council would need to get an eviction notice and work with bailiffs if it wanted to move the travellers on.

Councillor Baker also claimed that the travellers had removed a lock to access Woodford Park, but that he’d had no other reports of trouble or problems.

He said: “Quite often they’ll leave the site and bag up all the rubbish and then they move on. But it totally depends on the group that are travelling.” He said some travellers can “cause a nuisance,” but “I can’t say that about this group here.”

READ MORE: Travellers at Reading park ordered to move on

Travellers rights group Friends, Families and Travellers says the reason travellers park up in public places is usually because they can’t find authorised sites.

It says this is “Usually because there aren’t enough sites or negotiated stopping places in the area and there isn’t any other place to stop. Councils have a responsibility to identify land for Travellers to live and stop in their area.”

It adds that there are many reasons why travellers travel, including for funerals, weddings and family occasions, because it is part of their heritage, or because discrimination makes it hard for them to settle.

In January this year, Wokingham Borough Council appealed for landowners and town and parish councils to come forward with suggestions for locations to host traveller sites.

Speaking at the time, councillor Lindsay Ferris, responsible for planning, said: “We have a duty to plan for everyone who lives in our borough and our Gypsy and Traveller communities will also require additional space and pitches in years to come.

“These communities, which have protected status as an ethnic group, face a shortage of sites nationally and we want to play our part in helping to meet local need within the borough.”