GYPSIES will be slapped with ASBOs under the Council’s new campaign to stop the huge influx of travellers.
Illegal camps are costing council taxpayers nearly £100,000 a year in clean-up, security and court costs - and as the Stockport Express revealed last month, numbers in the borough have shot up, while they tumbled everywhere else in Manchester.
Now, anti-social behaviour order legislation is to be used, after repeated demands from Stockport MP Ann Coffey.
But Ms Coffey said she could not understand why ASBOs have not been used before. She said: "It’s absolutely bizarre - the anti-social behaviour legislation is just made for the travellers.
"I think it‘s because one part of the Council was using travellers legislation and seemed to be totally unaware that they could be dealt with by the ASBO, which is why we had a big meeting with them about it a year ago. It became obvious to me that it had never occurred to them. And if they are slapping Fixed Penalty Notices on residents of Stockport who drop litter then why aren’t they issuing them to travellers?"
Travellers have caused havoc over the last year as residents complain of huge piles of rubble, noisy generators and dogs barking all night. But a new strategy, said to be the first of its kind in the country, is to be rolled out next week, involving police, anti-social behaviour officers, trading standards and environmental enforcement officers.
Steve Brown, head of Stockport’s Community Safety Unit admitted the ASBO suggestion had come from Ms Coffey’s office.
"We can thank them for the good idea but it‘s the Council and the partnership that made this idea workable. We have spent the last few weeks sitting down and sorting out a strategy which is the first of its kind in Greater Manchester."
Stockport Council hopes the strategy use the powers of different groups to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, fly tipping and unlawful working practices, along with powers currently exercised by police.
Mr Brown added: "What we are doing is totally different to any other Council in the country, forming this multi-agency team enforcement team. I quite agree that it‘s about applying the same laws of the land to everybody - and we will use anti-social behaviour legislation where it’s relevant."
