It’s been a tough old time for travellers, just as it has been for everyone these last ten months, and no one at #TeamCES is denying that the added difficulties of the pandemic have made life on the move more challenging…

…but…

…it’s also been a tough time for our clients, landlords who have had to stand by and watch as their properties and premises have been trespassed upon, time and time again, over what has been a period of uncertainty and insecurity like never before.

Now, whenever we’ve been called upon, #TeamCES have maintained our 100% eviction success rate, but that’s not the point.

Yes, it might be good work for us as a company, but it is our clients who are spending tens of thousands of pounds collectively, on addressing a problem that has been ignored from people much higher up the pecking order…

…until now.

New legislation will be music to the ears of our clients, as it gives police more powers to arrest and prosecute travellers for trespassing on private land.

£2,500 fines will be issued for breaches of the law, and if that isn’t enough of a deterrent, jail time of up to three months is now a possibility as well.

Bending the rules will be tougher, and the loopholes are getting smaller, as action can now be taken against two vans on site, when it was previously only possible for encampments of more than six.

So, in effect, this will mean less evictions are necessary, as the police will be able to apply these new laws of instant arrest and vehicle seizure, and then the courts will be able to follow through with the prosecutions of fines or even jail time.

But, won’t less evictions mean less work for our industry?

Potentially in the short term, yes, but what is good for our clients is good for us, and we have watched them spend unnecessary amounts of money on what has become a never-ending cycle of trespass and eviction.

It’s about time something was done.

As for the travellers, we really do sympathise with their situation, and we will always deal with families and individuals with the utmost respect.

We will constantly evaluate factors of vulnerability, and signpost people to the relevant help if they feel it is appropriate, but at the end of the day, illegal activity is illegal activity, and we are pleased on behalf of our clients that the police will be able to exercise these new powers, remove trespassers and ultimately, save them a whole lot of heartache and plenty of much needed money too.