A GROUP of travellers have been branded “disrespectful” after setting up camp at a cemetery.

The unauthorised encampment of van dwellers has sparked public outrage after taking up residence at the Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Warren Road, Woodingdean.

The incident comes as the new Labour administration announced a “speedy review” into the council’s use of legal powers to remove trespassing encampments.

The new administration has also indicated it is unlikely to use injunctions to prevent repeated trespasses because of doubts surrounding their effectiveness – a move that has been criticised by Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown.

The group of more than a dozen caravans arrived at the 37-acre lawn memorial, which has specialist areas set aside for Muslims, Quakers and other denominations, on Monday afternoon.

Council and police officers visited them yesterday afternoon.

Residents took to Facebook to show their disgust, branding the travellers “disrespectful”.

One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “Even though you cannot see gravestones when you first go there, there are signs at both ends of the cemetery so it’s pretty clear what the site is.

“My very best friend at school has his two parents buried there so as you can imagine this really annoys me.

“It has happened here about five years ago and that time they interrupted a funeral service.

“There is a lot of strength of feeling on the Facebook group about this.”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said: “We’re highly aware of the fact it’s a sensitive site.”

He added the council and police were considering prompt action within their legal powers.

In a letter to residents, council leader Warren Morgan said the proposed use of injunctions, which have been used in Essex, were “unlikely to address the problem” of traveller trespass.

He said council lawyers had identified “considerable problems” with enforcing injunctions against people whose identities are not known and that any injunction would not fully cover travellers visiting the city for just a few months this summer.

He added: “The newly elected Labour administration has asked officers in the council’s legal team to undertake a speedy review of all legal powers available to the council and to check that their use is being optimised.”

Mr Kirby MP said residents with loved ones buried at the site were “particularly upset” about the illegal encampment.

He urged the council to reconsider their position on injunctions.

He said: “The injunctions that have been put in place by Harlow Council and Essex County Council are not only on certain named individuals, but also on ‘persons unknown’ which should prevent any illegal encampments whatsoever.

“Brighton and Hove City Council has sufficient powers to swiftly deal with illegal traveller encampments, which has been made clear by Government ministers.”

UPDATE 27/05/15 at 10.15am - Brighton and Hove City Council has informed us the travellers have been moved on by Sussex Police.

Background

Travellers were banned from setting up illegal sites across the entirety of the Essex town of Harlow following an "unprecedented" High Court ruling in March.

Harlow Council and Essex County Council successfully applied for an interim injunction to prevent unauthorised camps from being set up on 454 "parcels" of land.

The injunction applied to 35 named travellers and remains in place until a full injunction hearing is held later this year.

The councils took the legal action after more than 100 sites in Harlow were used as illegal camps in 18 months.

Lack of alternatives for Labour council

The new Labour administration at Brighton and Hove City Council has said a review of all existing legal powers will check for any available measures to reduce unauthorised encampments.

Council leader Warren Morgan said in a letter to city residents that one of his administration’s key priorities will be to reduce unauthorised encampments and the impact they have on the community.

But he also admitted the local authority was restricted by the fact the transit site at Horsdean was currently closed for major improvement works.

Without a transit site, council and police officers are restricted in their powers in moving travellers on.

Residents claim that a recent encampment at Hollingbury golf course was allowed to stay for three weeks because of a lack of alternatives.

Coun Morgan told residents that with the reopening of the Horsdean next year, residents were likely to see a reduction in unauthorised encampments in the city and the council would be in a “much stronger position” to obtain an injunction against repeated trespassers if necessary.

A replacement transit site at Hangleton Bottom was proposed for while work was carried out at Horsdean.

However, plans were rejected by Labour and Conservative councillors in October last year over concerns of its proximity to houses and safe access to the site.

Green leader Phelim Mac Cafferty told The Argus the solution to the ongoing issue was for increased dialogue with traveller groups rather than “digging trenches”.

But residents are growing increasingly frustrated at the merry-go-round of recurring traveller encampments at certain sites, claims of public defecation and the rubbish left behind in city parks.