Boulders and height gate installed at Sheffield park to prevent travellers from pitching up on green
A Sheffield park has been surrounded by boulders and gated off at the entrance to prevent travellers from setting up camp.
Angram Bank recreation ground, on Foster Way, High Green, was the site of a encampment made up of 50 caravans in August 2021.
After they were served formal notice to leave, Ecclesfield parish councillor David Ogle shared photos of the mess left, and compared it to “an open sewer”.
The 2021 encampment was reportedly the fifth time travellers had arrived at Angram Bank in recent years.
Now, after a £30,000 project funded by Ecclesfield parish council, blockades have been placed around the park to prevent vehicles accessing the site, after work began last week.
They include a ring of boulders along Foster Way and a yellow height barrier gate across the main entrance.
Councillor Ogle, an independent, told The Star: “It came to a point we had travellers twice a year and we said we can’t go on like this.
“When they came in August 2021 Angram Bank park was used as an open toilet. There was rubbish everywhere and there was a lot of anti-social behaviour. Frankly, it was a traumatic experience for the community.
“I managed to ask for an extraordinary meeting of the parish council, I pleaded my case and asked for funding to build these barriers, which they agreed to.
“I hope this solves the problem for my local residents.
“I’m really grateful to the parish council who supported this project. Parish council decisions are a team effort.
“I also want to thank the parks team who were brilliant.”