London council secures borough-wide injunction against illegal encampments

Bromley Council has persuaded the High Court to grant a borough-wide injunction against illegal encampments on land it owns or manages.

The injunction, initially in place for three months, means that anyone breaching the order could be held in contempt of court and may be imprisoned, fined or have their assets seized. A copy of the injunction can be downloaded here.

Bromley told the court that it had suffered 35 illegal incursions from 2016 to 2018.

The council said it envisaged that a longer-term injunction could be applied for in due course.

Cllr Kate Lymer, Executive Councillor for Public Protection and Enforcement at Bromley, said: “We will not accept illegal encampments on our greenspaces, parks and other areas managed by the council and are totally committed to using our legal powers.

“This welcome High Court injunction underlines our determination to use all legal measures at our disposal, which will hopefully speed up some of the frustrating delays we have experienced. We have been preparing the legal documentation for a while now which strengthens the legal framework on a local level when tackling traveller incursions.”

Cllr Lymer: “In light of events in recent days, I would like to thank residents for their support and the Friends of Parks groups for helping in the clearing up following the traveller incursions. Naturally in these situations, we do liaise with the police who can use their legal powers and issue a section 61 notice, which they have done in the most recent examples. If crimes are being committed, then residents need to call the police, using the most appropriate contact details, depending on exactly what is going on.”