Travellers remain on Moss Bank Park after order to leave

Around 10 caravans moved onto the Johnson Fold side of Moss Bank Park on July 20.

Cllr Roger Hayes, of Smithills, said: “They are still there as of last night. I suspect they will hang on until the last minute.

“They know the routine, and will never leave until the court order comes.

“They normally take advantage, but this group are a lot more considerate; they are camped away from the main attractions.”

A Bolton Council spokesperson previously said: “Officers have visited the site this morning (20th July) and carried out the appropriate welfare checks and served Directions to leave the land under Section 77 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. 

“We will revisit after 24hrs to see if the directions have been complied with and if not, we will liaise with legal colleagues to arrange a court date so that an application for a court order can be made.”

Mr Hayes said the current group had caused fewer concerns than previous encampments.

He added: “The ones who came last year were a nightmare, so it depends on the group.

“This group this time seem to have been careful, because they usually leave a mess.

(Image: NQ)

“The council finds it more economical to give them a skip instead of dealing with any rubbish left on the park.

“We spent a lot of money from the ward budget last year on boulders to encourage them not to come on.

“Last year it was chaos. The café had to close, the fair had to close and people lost a fortune.”

The latest encampment follows another unauthorised camp at the same park last week, which was removed quickly.

Earlier this year, barriers were installed at entrances to Longsight Park in Harwood after repeated unauthorised encampments and concerns over antisocial behaviour.

(Image: NQ)

A Freedom of Information request submitted by The Bolton News also found Bolton Council has spent more than £19,000 removing unauthorised Traveller encampments from council land over the past two years.

The figures show the authority spent £16,926.90 during 2024 to 2025 and £2,430 during 2025 to 2026. No costs were recorded for 2023 to 2024.

Unauthorised encampments on private land are generally the responsibility of the landowner, while Gypsies and Travellers are protected from discrimination under equality legislation.