Key Points
- Financial Disclosure: Bolton Council town hall chiefs revealed they have spent over £19,000 of taxpayers' money to execute the legal removal of unauthorised Traveller encampments from local authority land.
- Core Encampment Locations: The cost transparency details came following high-profile unauthorised camps, including an eight-caravan assembly at Longsight Park in Harwood and another presence at the New Bury Learning Centre.
- Varying Site Conditions: Distinctly contrasting impacts were documented across the targeted sites. Longsight Park volunteers reported a major, hazardous clean-up operation involving human waste, while the New Bury Learning Centre site was left relatively clean and respectful.
- Security Reinforcements: Following the expenditures and public disruption, ward councillors and council officers announced reviews to "beef up" security via upgraded metal barriers, stronger locks, and pull-up bollards.
- Strict Legal Protocols: The local authority verified that it systematically executes standard operating procedures, delivering Section 77 notices and performing welfare and health safety checks prior to launching formal court eviction actions.
Bolton (Bolton Today) July 3, 2026 – Local authority chiefs at Bolton Council have officially disclosed that the municipal town hall spent an aggregate sum exceeding £19,000 to manage, legally process, and remove unauthorised Traveller encampments from council-owned land across the borough. The financial figures, released by the local government authority following recent movements within the district, have shed light on the direct public costs associated with executing legal evictions, conducting essential welfare checks, and conducting post-encampment cleanup and remediation operations.
How Much Did Bolton Council Spend to Remove Unauthorised Encampments?
According to an exclusive investigative report published by Joe Regent, a dedicated local government reporter for The Bolton News, town hall administrators have calculated that the exact bill for moving on Travellers from municipal properties stands at more than £19,000. This public money covers the operational expenses incurred during recent months as the council navigated standard statutory systems to reclaim multiple public spaces.
As detailed within the ongoing investigative reporting by Joe Regent of The Bolton News, the financial data underscores the mounting logistical and legal weights carried by local authorities when managing modern unauthorised encampments. The public accounting directly responds to intense community questioning regarding the precise fiscal impact that shifting seasonal camps place upon the borough's strained municipal budgets.
Where Were the Primary Unauthorised Traveller Camps Located in Bolton?
The disclosure of the thousands of pounds spent by the local authority follows a sequence of prominent land occupations that materialised across different corners of the metropolitan borough. The most visible of these modern encampments occurred when a convoy consisting of eight caravans parked up directly on the popular playing fields and football pitches of Longsight Park, situated in the residential district of Harwood.
Concurrently, a separate group of caravans set up an unauthorised camp on the opposite side of town, occupying land at the New Bury Learning Centre, another asset under the direct ownership of Bolton Council. Records from recent months indicate that similar Traveller convoys have historically utilised alternative public and commercial spaces across the region, including notable roadside stopovers on car parks throughout Westhoughton and localized corporate sites such as Tesco.
What Conditions Were Left Behind at Longsight Park After the Legal Eviction?
The environmental aftermath of the encampments varied drastically by location, igniting major local concerns regarding sanitation and land damage. Following the departure of the eight caravans from the Harwood parkland, community groups, local volunteers, and elected officials described being left with an extensive and deeply shocking remediation task.
As reported by The Bolton News, Jane Wilcock, a leading representative from the local community volunteer group Friends of Harwood and Longsight Park, expressed profound shock at the severe scale of the mess left behind by the departing camp. Explaining the reality confronting the park's local caretakers, Jane Wilcock stated that:
"The place just smells of human manure. The place became an enormous toilet just full of human waste and somebody's got to clear that up. Who wants that job? It's awful."
Jane Wilcock further highlighted the emotional blow to the area's dedicated environmental guardians, noting that volunteers had spent consecutive years restoring the park and its historic arboretum. The damage occurred directly after United Utilities completed critical structural works nearby to fix historical sewage issues affecting Bradshaw Brook, and alongside recent community efforts to plant fresh saplings and improve local walking paths. Expressing her frustration with the situation, Jane Wilcock added:
"To have a small group of people come on, I think there were caravans plus their cars, and cause so much damage within a week is unforgivable really and they should be ashamed of themselves."
Due to rigorous health regulations and contamination restrictions, the local volunteers were legally blocked from clearing the worst elements of the pollution themselves. Jane Wilcock confirmed this limitation, stating:
"Because it was contaminated we couldn't. We're not insured for human waste."
How Did Local Ward Councillors Respond to the Hazardous Waste?
Compounding the local testimonies, Councillor James Moller, the elected representative for the Bradshaw ward, confirmed that coordinated efforts between dedicated community associations and official council cleansing staff had to be mobilised quickly to handle the debris. Commenting on the nature of the items scattered across the parkland, Councillor James Moller stated:
"To my knowledge, there's been quite a bit of rubbish. We've spoken to Bolton Council and they're continuing to do the clean-up. I think there was nappies, dirty wipes and stuff like that, so I think it was hazardous material left behind as well."
Why Did the New Bury Learning Centre Encampment Receive a Different Reaction?
In stark contrast to the environmental fallout documented at Longsight Park, the unauthorised camp that occupied the grounds of the council-owned New Bury Learning Centre concluded with zero reports of anti-social mess or significant property damage. Local stakeholders praised the occupants of the New Bury camp for maintaining high standards of cleanliness and showing clear civic respect during their short stay.
As reported in the extensive coverage compiled by The Bolton News, Chantelle Nice, a local resident who actively runs a community boxing club based out of the New Bury centre, offered a highly positive account of her interactions with the group. Refuting negative generalizations surrounding mobile communities, Chantelle Nice stated that:
"It's all been cleared now, and it's not all too bad to be fair. They were nice, respectful, and they bagged most things up, and left it in piles. They were actually a lovely bunch of people, really respectful."
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What Legal Process Does Bolton Council Follow to Remove Encampments?
To avoid legal liabilities and ensure adherence to human rights legislation, Bolton Council adheres to a precise, multi-stage statutory framework whenever an unauthorised encampment is identified on public land. The process balances community enforcement with mandatory humanitarian and medical welfare oversight.
What is a Section 77 Notice?
When the local authority becomes aware of an unauthorised camp, its initial legal step involves serving an official notice under Section 77 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. This document commands the occupants to remove their vehicles and personal property from the land within a specified 24-hour window. If the occupants refuse to comply with the Section 77 directive, the council is then legally empowered to escalate the matter by applying for a formal eviction order through the magistrates' courts.
Why are Pre-Eviction Welfare Checks Mandatory?
Before any legal notice can be enforced or progressed through the court system, council officers must conduct comprehensive on-site welfare checks. A spokesperson for Bolton Council clarified this operational protocol, confirming that:
"We are aware of an unauthorised encampment at Longsight Park. All the appropriate welfare checks have been carried out and we have started the legal process to have the encampment removed."
These mandatory assessments are designed to identify any pressing health needs, pregnancies, or educational requirements among the camp's occupants that might legally delay an eviction. Following the Longsight Park arrival, the council officially confirmed that its officers had completed the necessary visits and detected no active health or vulnerabilities among the families living in the caravans.
Elected officials voiced strong backing for the speed of the local authority's bureaucratic response. Commenting on the initial enforcement steps, Councillor James Moller remarked:
"It's good to see that Bolton council has done the welfare checks and they're moving on with it swiftly with the correct route and action."
What New Security Upgrades are Being Planned to Protect Bolton's Parks?
With the total bill for enforcement, processing, and cleaning now climbing past £19,000, attention within the town hall has shifted decisively toward long-term prevention. Council officers and ward politicians are actively drawing up structural plans to reinforce vulnerable green spaces, aiming to block vehicular access and prevent future unauthorised entry.
According to municipal reports published by The Bolton News, the council's engineering and park services are reviewing structural security updates at Longsight Park, where entry gates suffered mechanical damage during the initial intrusion. The defensive adjustments under active consideration include installing heavy-duty upgraded metal barriers, fitting industrial-grade perimeter locks, and embedding retractable pull-up bollards at the primary access thresholds.
Detailing the planned improvements, Councillor James Moller explained that physical updates were already being implemented on-site:
"They've now left, and they are locking the gate today. They're updating the metal barrier and putting a new lock on. The council is also looking at what other measures they can put in place to stop people cutting it off."
Councillor James Moller further elaborated on the long-term design goals for the park's perimeter defences, stating:
"We've proposed improving the barriers and putting in pull-up bollards as well. We want to make it secure but still easy to access. We are talking about beefing up the security, so hopefully we can stop them in their tracks the next time."
The drive to install robust physical barriers is additionally fueled by previous community complaints regarding anti-social behavior. Earlier in the year, local residents expressed fury after off-road quad bikes repeatedly breached the weak park perimeters, tearing up the grass pitches and causing extensive surface damage to the fragile parkland.
How does the Council Allocate Resources for hazardous waste disposal?
In the final phases of reclaiming public land, specialized teams are deployed to manage waste disposal based on safety risk assessments. While general refuse can be cleared quickly by standard local teams, the presence of human waste introduces hazardous material protocols.
A technical bulletin issued by Bolton Council's environmental services department outlined the operational reality of the clean-up:
"The site gate has been damaged. The service is looking to review this element of site security. All waste handled up to this point has been general waste. We have found no hazardous waste on site. Where human waste is found, the team will apply the Health and Safety precautions stated in our risk assessments."
The council's technical assessment also detailed the difficult timeline required to completely sanitize the dense woodlands of Harwood:
"The team have spent approximately half a day last week. As stated above, the remainder is difficult to access due to water and the dense tree line. When we can access the remaining area, we expect it to take at least a further full day."
The municipal authority concluded its public update by reiterating its continued commitment to neighborhood volunteers, noting that "the council offers a wide range of support to local volunteers" to ensure public spaces are fully restored for the community.