A CUMBERLAND councillor has said that agencies have 'a process' for liaising with travelling communities who pass through the area and ultimately 'moving them on', though admitted it can be 'ponderous'.

Councillor John Mallinson, Cumberland Council member for Houghton and Irthington, who led Carlisle City Council before local government reform last year, was speaking following the news that a travellers’ encampment has returned to Carlisle's Rickerby Park.

John Mallinson said: “I believe the council has a process for moving people on, which can be a little ponderous and take some time.

"But I think during the time of their stay the council should encourage as little mess and disruption as possible until they move on by their own volition or council action, and the council should move very quickly to make sure everything has been cleaned up afterwards.”

Cumbria Police said at the weekend they're aware of the situation and are monitoring it, adding that they respond to such matters from a 'multi-agency perspective', and that traveller encampments are a matter for them and the council.

“With regards to such encampments, a number of considerations must be accounted for, not least the welfare of the travellers and the settled community.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and are in liaison with the local authority," a police spokesperson said.

Elizabeth Mallinson represented the Stanwix ward of the former Carlisle City Council when a similar encampment sprung up at Rickerby Park in 2021.

Mrs Mallinson said she’s ‘disappointed’ that the travellers have returned and have been reported to be travelling across the grass again.

“I personally haven’t been to see them this time, but if it is the same family, they are en route to Ireland,” she said, explaining that there is a different group who use the space and have done so in the past, while en-route to Appleby."

In 2021, tensions rose over a traveller encampment in Rickerby Park. Back then, the community reacted with anger after people camped out in motorhomes in the park, reportedly leaving litter behind.

Environmental teams from what was Carlisle City Council were deployed to clean up excess waste left behind by the encampment.

During Mrs Mallinson's tenure on the city council, signs stating overnight parking is not allowed were installed, which allowed the council to issue campers with notices to quit, she said, but added that she can’t comment on what has taken place now as Cumberland Council is in charge.

“It’s very difficult to remove people without a court order, but the sooner it’s dealt with, the better.

“I cannot speak for Cumberland, but if it had been the city council, our green spaces team and solicitors would have been down there to take action,” she said.

Mrs Mallinson added that it is ‘a shame’ to hear that they were reportedly travelling along the footpaths and across the grass, as it can unfairly hurt perceptions among the general public.

Brian Wernham, Cumberland Council member for Stanwix Urban, said: "I am concerned that people may be camping in Rickerby Park without the necessary toilet facilities that would be expected in a modern recreational camping vehicle. 

"In previous years some of the campers have left litter behind.

"There seem to be different vehicles that come and go but I will be going to inspect the site tomorrow when I return from my weekend away.

"I hope to be able to remind the campers in person of their responsibility to leave the site as they found it.

"If there are problems left behind then environmental teams from Carlisle City Council will be deployed to clean up excess waste left behind by any encampment on Rickerby Park. 

"It is a shame that residents' council tax has to be spent cleaning up other people's mess."