Norman Baker MP Member of Parliament for Lewes constituency
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East Sussex,
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MP calls for County Council to move unauthorised encampment
Following a public meeting last week, local Lib Dem MP Norman Baker accused the County Council of failing in its duty to the citizens of Glynde and Beddingham by not taking action over an unauthorised travellers' encampment for almost 18 months.
The meeting, which was organised by local residents and chaired by Mr. Baker, was also attended by Lewes District Council Chief Executive, John Crawford, the Lead Member for Lewes District Council, Ralph Taylor, representatives of Glynde & Beddingham Parish Council and Superintendent Chris Parrott and Inspector Viv Johnson from Sussex Police. East Sussex County Council, who were invited to take part, failed to attend despite the fact that the travellers' encampment is on County Council land.
Those who attended the meeting agreed the following action points:
- Local residents will endeavour to report all alleged crimes to the police who will in turn increase their presence in the area.
- Lewes District Council promised to improve its telephone system for receiving complaints about environmental health issues and will also undertake steps to both reduce the amount of litter at the site and investigate allegations of noise nuisance to see if an offence has been committed under the Environmental Protection Act.
- Mr. Baker agreed to organise a meeting with senior officers at East Sussex County Council, in order to discuss matters raised at the public meeting and press the Council to take urgent action on the matter.
Speaking about the refusal of County Council officers to attend the meeting Norman said,
"I find it highly regrettable and unacceptable that County Council officers refused to come to the public meeting in Glynde. This is in stark contrast to Sussex Police and Lewes District Council, who did send senior representatives to the meeting, who took the time to listen to the views and concerns of Glynde residents.
"People in Glynde and Beddingham have been very patient with the encampment and have reacted, in my view, in a sober and responsible way to the situation. Some feel that this mature response has been exploited by the County Council who appear to have concluded that the nature of the local response means that the urgency of moving the encampment on is lessened. This is certainly not the case and I think that it is now a matter of some urgency that the County Council takes effective proactive action to find an alternative location for these travellers."