TOUGHER action by the Irish Government has been one of the reasons why Basingstoke has suffered from more unauthorised encampments by travellers, a borough and county councillor has claimed.

Cllr Phil Heath told a Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council community overview committee that stricter rules restricting what they could do in Ireland was encouraging Irish travellers to come over to the UK.

The councillor, who is a member of the local authorities' gypsy liaison panel in Hampshire, said he did not want to see the borough council taxpayers continually having to spend £45,000 a time to clear up the rubbish left behind by travellers.

He said: "We have got to do what they do in Ireland and grasp the nettle."

Cllr Heath was one of the speakers at the meeting that debated a new borough council policy towards travellers who set up illegal camps on council-owned land.

The committee was told the number of illegal camps has shot up to 50 since April 2004 - compared with 19 in the previous 12 months.

The public is being asked for its views on the policy, which is available to read on the council's website.

A report on the public responses will be prepared at the end of the month for the borough council's Cabinet to consider.

Cllr Heath said residents fed up with travellers should bear in mind that they come to the town because they can find work here.

He said: "It you don't want these encampments on your doorstep, don't employ them."

Cllr Keith Chapman, who is also a member of the gypsy liaison panel, confirmed that the former Hampshire County Council Peak Copse gypsy camp, which is based at Dummer, is not going to be reinstated, even though the search is on for suitable sites across the county. He said Peak Copse was deemed to be unsuitable.

As reported in The Basingstoke Extra last Wednesday, if it is adopted, the borough's new policy will allow travellers to stay put if they have pregnant women or school-age children among their numbers, but they may also be evicted if they are a nuisance and complaints are received.

First published: Wednesday, March 9, 2005