Portsmouth council puts large boulders in place off Southsea Common to deter travellers

Portsmouth City Council today began positioning rocks along the edge of green space bordered by Southsea Terrace and Duisburg Way.

The work is an extension of the same process that was used in July last year around other sections of the common to prevent vehicles parking on the grass.

It comes as campervans and cars pitched up on land behind Clarence Pier, next to Pembroke Road, on Tuesday last week. Today the council made a court appearance to request an eviction notice for the encampment.

Councillor Lee Hunt, the council's community safety boss, said: ‘This is all part of looking at how we can better protect these bits of land.

‘They're unauthorised encampments, it doesn't matter if it's travellers or the Women's Institute setting up there.

‘We will use all our powers to make sure these public green spaces remain open for everybody.’

SEE ALSO: Boulders placed around Southsea Common to deter encampments

Cllr Hunt said the council was ‘reviewing the situation’ off Pembroke Road.

‘We are looking at how we can protect that piece of land,’ he said.

‘It might not be rocks there. These are historic bits of land and what we have to do is be very mindful of the visual amenity and the history of the area.’

Councillor Hunt said that the latest area of the common to be bordered with boulders could not have been done last year due to ‘budget constraints’.

He added: ‘I have been up to look at the King George playing fields and the Mountbatten Centre, which are always under review, to see what can be done there.’

As reported, between May and September last year Portsmouth City Council had spent £13,000 to cover costs incurred by encampments, including court fees, security and site clean ups.

On top of this an extra £24,600 was invested in security and preventative measures to deter future encampments - such as the large boulders.

The encampment by Pembroke Road was still in place at the time of reporting.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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