Another Reading park affected by travellers
Residents accuse council of not doing enough
Last updated 19th Aug 2021
Travellers have once again set up an encampment at yet another park in Reading to the anger of locals who are “running out of patience”.
An encampment has been set up at Cintra Park, with the park’s gate breached using powered cutting equipment.
Residents across Reading have expressed their annoyance at Reading Borough Council (RBC) for failing to prevent traveller convoys moving onto the town’s parks but the council says swift action has been taken this time around.
According to one resident, things “nearly got ugly” in the south-east Reading park earlier this week, with caravans driving across football pitches mid-game.
Angry Tweet
Local resident Oli Butler slammed the council, tweeting: “Travellers are back in Cintra Park again due to the total lack of action, terrible security, and ‘don’t really care’ approach of RBC.
“If I stop paying my council tax I’ll get a visit soon enough, won’t I? Rising bollard now.
“Reading Labour councillors need to understand that it nearly got ugly in the park today.
“Football was on – vans nearly driving across the pitches mid game, football families getting very angry, local residents getting very angry. Patience is running very short.”
Council response
Travellers had pitched up at Palmer Park in late July and left yesterday, with the east Reading park now cleaned-up and re-secured, but a new encampment was set up the same day in Cintra Park.
A council spokesman said: “We are aware of a further encampment at Cintra Park, which follows a larger group leaving Palmer Park yesterday.
“Thames Valley Police has confirmed to the council that they will be issuing a Section 61 order today to remove the new Cintra Park incursion and we are grateful for that swift action.”
Four incursions
Mr Butler said there have been four incursions at Cintra Park this year alone and it has “got out of hand”. Prior to yesterday, Cintra Park’s gates were most recently forced open by travellers in June who left the same month.
He added: “Our community is really angry we’ve got law abiding folks who have never shown any civil disobedience wondering how we can withhold council tax payments to get some attention from the council.
“It has to stop. The environmental impact is bad enough from human waste, burning of cables, oil and petrol being spilt in the park.
“Then there is the behaviour, confrontations, late night noise, constant high speed driving of vans up and down the roads – the list goes on.
“The security efforts made by the council are pointless so this is an open-ended problem unless they install a rising bollard.”
The council said it has already ordered a bollard for the gated entrance on Cintra Avenue and will be installing it as soon as it arrives.
Travellers abandoned another encampment at John Rabson Recreation Ground at the end of July, leaving a caravan behind which was then torched.
The caravan remains have now been removed by the council, more than two weeks later.