A group of travellers who have resided on Kew Green since Thursday have left the site.

The travellers left voluntarily yesterday evening (June 2) after a High Court decision gave Richmond Council the power to evict the group.

The small group arrived last Thursday afternoon (27 May) and refused to co-operate with a request to move their site of around 12 caravans on.

Police and the Council’s Parkguard service regularly patrolled the Green over the weekend and responded to reports of human waste being deposited in nearby lanes.

Although the travellers have now left, the Council will still serve the Order of Possession today, which is valid for three months.

Cllr Julia Neden-Watts, Chair of the Environment, Sustainability, Culture and Sports Committee, said:

“Thanks to our prompt action last week we were able to get a court hearing as soon as possible after the Bank Holiday, which has resulted in a Possession Order and the traveller group voluntarily leaving the site before we were required to evict them.

“In this instance we did not have the same power we have had in recent years, following a High Court order earlier this month which denied the Council’s request to extend the previous expedited injunction process. We moved as quickly as legally possible to ensure that the travellers could be moved on from Kew Green and we hope that this swift action deters this group from returning and others from coming to the borough.

“I would like to thank Police, our Parkguard officers and our cleansing team who have been on site since Thursday to monitor the site and clear any waste left in the area.”

Apart from some bags of rubbish, no permanent damage has been caused to the site.