Caravan site linked to alleged violence to be closed

A caravan site linked to alleged serious crime by some people staying there, including the storage of guns and drugs as well as serious violence, is to be cleared out.

Crompton Lodge in Moses Gate, Bolton, is owned by the local authority, which has decided enough is enough after years of problems.

Bolton Council said one of its liaison officers was recently subject to a "serious attack" on the site, the culmination of "escalating violence and criminality".

The council has applied for a closure order at Manchester Magistrates' Court, and work to remove anyone onsite without a tenancy is expected to begin on Tuesday. Legitimate tenants "will be provided with full guidance and support" throughout the ongoing closure process, it says.

Letters are being handed to all occupants declaring that Bolton Council is satisfied the site is "creating disorder" for local people, the Traveller community and the wider Bolton area.

In recent weeks, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) made seven arrests linked to allegations of abstracting electricity worth tens of thousands of pounds.

But the council said that was part of a long list of criminal offences committed at Crompton Lodge, including "large scale" violence and disorder and knife-point robberies.

It said firearms, ammunition and drugs had been recovered from toilet blocks on vacant lots, along with stolen goods, while stolen dogs were also found on-site.

The council said stolen vehicles and plant hire equipment had also been found at the site, while vandalism at the site office meant it was "not possible" for staff to have a presence.

"Repeated damage" to the CCTV cameras meant it was "no longer viable" to maintain and repair them, the council said.

A spokesperson continued: "As a council, we fully recognise our statutory duty to make provisions for the Traveller community.

“However, we have now reached a point where it is no longer possible to safely maintain and run this site, despite a number of joint interventions over many years."

The council said council employees and contractors had been unable to visit the site without a police escort in recent times, a situation described as "unsustainable".

Ch Supt Stephanie Parker, Bolton district commander at GMP, said local officers had spent "hundreds of hours" in the area responding to "serious incidents".

“The local community have been subject to unacceptable levels of crime and violence linked to this site, which has significantly escalated in recent months," she said.

Breaching a closure order can result in a prison sentence of up to six months or an unlimited fine.

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