Wiltshire Council evicts Downton man following dumping and burning of waste

Tuesday, 12 November 2024 06:00

Following a long-running case of anti-social behaviour, Wiltshire Council has successfully evicted a Downton man from a council-owned Gypsy and Traveller site.

Richard Willett, of 9 Lode Hill Caravan Site in Downton, was evicted after repeatedly dumping and burning rubbish on the site, which caused a nuisance to other residents and damage to the nearby environment.

The rubbish that has been burned includes general waste in sacks and bin bags, fridges, freezers, plastic, wood, PVC doors and frames, carpet, cardboard, plastic boxes and fibreglass loft insulation.

The issues began when the council advised Mr Willett to clear up the significant waste next to his pitch, in a communal parking and turning area, and stop burning the rubbish. However, this did not resolve the issue, and the council issued several verbal and written warnings to Mr Willett to stop his behaviour, but he refused to do so.

Since then, the council has issued Mr Willett with several legally enforceable warnings and notices, but he did not comply, and so Mr Willett and his family were served a notice of eviction. Following a trial hearing on 9 August 2024, the council was granted outright possession of Plot 9, Lode Hill Caravan Site and the family was given until 23 September 2024 to leave. This did not happen, and so Mr Willett and his family were evicted by bailiffs on Thursday, 7th November.

Cllr Phil Alford, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “Evicting someone from one of our sites is always a last resort, and we would always look to resolve the situation with the tenant where we can.

“However, we have given Mr Willett every opportunity to stop dumping and burning significant volumes of toxic rubbish, but he has continued to do so, causing both a nuisance to other residents and significant environmental harm.

“This gave us no choice but to evict Mr Willett and his family from the site to ensure the wellbeing of other residents and also help protect the local environment.

“Since this case was reported to us, we have done all we can to encourage and then require Mr Willett to change his ways and stop his anti-social behaviour, but he refused to do so at every stage and was uncooperative with our officers.

“As this case shows, we continue to take all actions available to us to prevent and end anti-social behaviour on council property and we hope the residents adversely affected are reassured by how seriously we take such matters.”