QUESTIONS have been raised over why Bolton Council has not acted sooner to improve its policies on travellers.

The council agreed last week to review its approach to ensure it is “robust, appropriate, and fit for purpose”, after camps in Farnworth, Sharples and Astley Bridge prompted complaints from residents.

However, Bolton UKIP leader Sean Hornby is unhappy that a motion he raised at a council meeting in April 2016 requesting a review was rejected by the ruling Labour group.

He said: “What I asked the the council to do last year was to look at our policies and see if there was more we could do to improve the situation.

“Labour said at the time that there was nothing wrong with the current policy, but now that seems to have changed.

“I am hoping that they will look at what other local authorities are doing — not only in Greater Manchester — for examples of best practice.

“We need to have a ‘get tough’ policy so that the message gets out to travellers that it is not worth them coming to Bolton.”

Cllr Elaine Sherrington, cabinet member for housing, said that a policy development group (PDG) has already been arranged to tackle the issue.

She said: “We don’t think our policies are robust enough and we now have this PDG that will take place in a couple of weeks.

“We are going to find out what we can do legally and also what powers the police have. The whole situation will be reviewed and I’m hopeful there will be a good outcome, but we won’t know until the PDG goes ahead.”

Cllr Hornby suggested that the council could seek to take out injunctions against travellers setting up camps on any council-owned land, rather than evicting them from individual sites.

However, the council says that such an approach may not be possible.

A council spokesman said: “We understand that councils have applied for injunctions against individuals, however these are where encampments were persistent and very large in number.

“We are currently reviewing our policies and will consider all options to deal with travellers whose behaviour causes problems for the local community.”

Astley Bridge residents clash with travellers as caravans move on to Barlow Park football pitches

Travellers at field by Cawdor Avenue in Farnworth speak out

Tory Leader, Cllr David Greenhalgh, said: “Clearly the issue of travellers and the need to look at ways the council can be more effective, has cross party consensus.

“But it is also crucial that when the meeting, that was agreed on at Full Council, takes place that we have present all the relevant partners, most importantly including the police and the Council’s legal department to make clear their role, and representatives of front line staff who deal with the actual dispersal.”

At last Wednesday’s council meeting, Cllr Sherrington said that travellers ‘might decide to go somewhere else’ if Bolton residents stopped using their services.