SPIRALLING costs for removing and clearing illegal travellers sites will increase council costs from £1,629 to £34,340 for the year to April 2002.
Dartford Council had already overspent its £1,629 budget by £25,530 by the end of October. The outlay followed visits from travellers between April and October.
Council officers estimate they will have spent more than £30,000 on clearing up after the travellers by April 2002. This takes into account the number of travellers expected to arrive in the spring.
The rise in costs is in spite of the council's system of bollards, steel fences, earth mounds and security gates costing £38,000 which kept them off Dartford Heath this year.
A council officer said: "Predicting the movement of travellers and the number of encampments which need to be dealt with in any one year is difficult.
"This financial year, the council has had to deal with fewer encampments on council land because the open spaces defences have proved to be effective. But removal and clearance costs have remained high."
December 10, 2001 17:25
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