Help Sitemap Home Skip Navigation Contact Us Disability Statement

 
 
Tuesday, 9th February 2010

Arrest fears for BNP caravanners

Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image

Published Date:
23 July 2009
MEMBERS of the BNP bringing caravans to the controversial Red, White and Blue festival in Denby in August could face arrest.
Amber Valley Borough Council has written to organiser Alan Warner, who has hosted the event on his land for the past two years, warning him he risks police intervention by allowing too many caravanners to park on his land during the festival without
a licence.

Landowners need a caravan site licence to use their sites as a temporary or permanent park for the vehicles and the council says the excessive number of caravans at last year's festival exceeded the number allowed without permission.

In a letter to Mr Warner sent earlier this month Amber Valley solicitor Paul Benski said: "Land may not be used as a caravan site, either permanently or temporarily, unless a site licence is held. To do otherwise would constitute a criminal offence.

"I must ask you to state in clear terms that anyone entering your land with a caravan is a trespasser who does so without your permission. Anyone who then does so is liable to arrest by the police for public order offences."

Mr Warner, whose home was targeted by vandals last week, said: "I have told our party to break off all communication with the council. I think it is absolutely ridiculous – talking about coming on site and arresting people in caravans for trespassing.

"This is clearly victimisation. Other events in the area like the steam rally have many caravans on site with no problems. It looks to me like they have been scouring the legal books looking for something to get us on and this is all they have found."

A spokesman for the council said: "Chief executive Peter Carney is responding to representations from the Chief Constable and complaints after last year's event from residents about the number of caravans on the site giving rise to traffic and noise issues.

"He is asking the council to make an order prohibiting a trespassory assembly on the land for the event, following a request from the Chief Constable. This is aimed at preventing large numbers of protesters attending the event, and follows the order that was made last year. He is also asking the council to apply for an injunction to prevent caravans entering the site."

The matter was discused by Amber Valley Borough Council on Wednesday, July 22, in private.



Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 28 July 2009 2:44 PM
  • Source: n/a
  • Location: Ripley & Heanor
 
Prev
1
Next
1

Tony Ward,

Liverpool 24/07/2009 21:18:51
Funny how one to many caravans on weekend at a BNP site will bring down the full wrath of the law but illegal Gypsy sites take months to shift.
2

whatnicknameisnotinusethen?,

Wigan, UK 25/07/2009 00:45:55
If you are a junkie. They give you drugs.
If you are an anti-social. They send you on holiday.
If you murder children. They give you a new identity.
...and so on.
Now if you are going to park a couple of caravans for a single weekend. The state weasels scuttle out of their burrows and cause trouble.

"..complaints after last year's event from residents about the number of caravans on the site giving rise to traffic and noise issues."
Did anyone here know caravans were noisy? Surely, the only noise issues were from the coach loads of soap dodging rag tags dragged in from all over the country that were making a nuisance of themselves in the village. Did they get police permission to do this?

More to the point. Are they allowed to do it again? Last year 33(?) of them were arrested for attacking the police and using riotous behaviour.
3

whatnicknameisnotinusethen?,

25/07/2009 01:00:23
Oh, I must add "trespassory assembly" can only be enforced on public land with numbers of 20 or more. Roads and parks for instance.

The unwashed will be honking and howling with sirens, banners and screams. Down the only road for the village. I would assume the police will enforce their powers of arrest over "trespassory assembly".

As long as nobody notices this law flies in the face of the human rights act.
4

MatlockMeat,

28/07/2009 12:25:00
If the law is going to get tough on too many caravans but do nothing about illegal gypsy sites may I suggest Mr warner claims he has not given permission to these caravans and that they be classed as gypsy's, then the law can't touch him or them.
5

Big.B,

Denby 29/07/2009 14:27:27
I am in agreement with many of the comments made and cannot believe the council are acting in this way. Of course the locals, me included, are not happy with extra trafic including caravans but surely at this stage it is too late. There should have been action taken to stop the plans earlier, how is someone allowed large fairground rides on their land but not caravans? If the council want to be respected then they need to act decisively and much much earlier. There are many ways they could I am sure have stopped the event, the debate has raged for months on this site alone, but now to come up with this is little short of pathetic and for once I have to agree with Mr Warner's comments.
I suggest the council listen to residents of Denby Lane and stop the event being held in the future, by using genuine objections and reasonable application of the law, not this silly action now threatened.

I do agree with the plans to stop the hoards of protesters, we want to protest but in a peaceful manner not the wild actions of last years protests, this just plays into the hands of the BNP by giving them mileage to say they are the respectable ones.
Prev
1
Next

 

Comment on this Story

 

In order to post comments you must Register or Sign In

 
 
RSS Feed of this article's comments
Delivery formats: RSS, Atom, Javascript & Email
 
 


Sister Newspapers:
Press Complaints Commission

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response provided then you can contact the PCC by clicking here.