Traveller group depart Dukes Meadows

Image above: The illegal Traveller encampment at Dukes Meadows on Monday 14 August

Hounslow Council to deploy Parks Team to clean up any “residual waste”

A group of Travellers who had been camped on Dukes Meadows since Sunday 13 August have now departed the site.

The group set up an unauthorised settlement with seven caravans and accompanying cars and vans on open land beside Riverside Drive.

Hounslow Council served the group with an eviction notice within 24 hours of the camp being set up, which instructed the group to depart the site but they remained there for well over a week.

Cllr John Todd, Conservative Councillor for Chiswick Riverside, said a lot of residents had complained about the group using the hedgerow as a toilet and leaving rubbish in the nearby allotments.

Asked if any cleanup was required now that the group have moved on, a Hounslow Council spokesperson said:

“Our Parks Team will now work on clearing any residual waste asap. As soon as we are aware a traveller encampment has left a site the team is notified and resources will be allocated to rectify any issues that might require their attention – dependant on what is appropriate for each encampment.”

LB Hounslow has a permanent site in Heston known as Hartlands where Travellers are supposed to camp, but Cllr Ajmer Grewal, Cabinet Member for Safety and Regulatory Services, told The Chiswick Calendar:

“We are currently experiencing a large number of incursions in the borough, which is not uncommon for this time of year.”