Judgment Approved by the court for handing down.
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urbanised area covered by the Injunction includes sites such as schools, public car parks, local businesses (such as supermarkets and other shops), sports facilities and public parks. When sites of that nature are targeted by encampments, the inhabitants of the area (and the Borough generally) suffer, as they often cannot use or access those sites, which have a high public amenity value. Further the sites on which encampments are formed are sometimes damaged (I shall discuss further below the impact that encampments have on the Borough and the sites on which they are formed), again affecting the use of the sites by the public and their amenity value. As such, the sites within the injunction area are generally not appropriate sites on which an encampment should form. 14. He describes the harm caused by unlawful encampments in the Injunction Area as including risks to public health due to the deposit of untreated human faeces which can result in disease and water contamination, threats and intimidation to the inhabitants of the Borough, various nuisances, including smoke and noise and financial harm to the Claimants in seeking to deter, enforce against and clean up after encampments. 15. Of relevance is that this harm is largely historic. Since the granting of the Injunction by Freedman J there have been no incidents of intimidation or anti- social behaviour, although clean-up and eviction costs have been incurred by private landowners. Eviction costs also have been incurred by the First Claimant outside of the Injunction Area . Enforcement has reduced to zero with nuisance such as burning also eliminated. 16. Mr. Williams emphasises that the injunctive relief sought is not trying to prevent the Gypsy and Traveller community encampments in the Brough altogether or generally and they are able to stop and encamp on the remaining 90% of land in the Borough. Rather, he says, it is focussed only on a small area where encampments are especially harmful and inappropriate or where it may be especially harmful. The land is a mix of private, charity and Borough land with the majority belonging to the Borough.
Draft 31 March 2025 12:22
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