A SEAFRONT site has been "secured" after evicted vans returned to park there – just days after a court order was made.
Last Friday, Brighton and Hove City Council gained possession of the land at Black Rock car park following a successful application to the county court.
Caravans, which had been parked at the site for over a year, left the area ahead of the Brighton Speed Trials over the weekend.
But just days later, the council said that some returned, forcing them to secure the site to "prevent further trespass".
READ MORE: Caravans parked in field at Stanmer Park served with legal notices
Pictures from the scene show the vans back at the site at the far eastern end of Madeira Drive, near Brighton Marina.
Earlier this year, The Argus reported how legal action to remove the caravans was blocked amid the pandemic.
The courts imposed conditions preventing their removal while the country is in lockdown.
However, last week the council said: "There is a county court hearing for possession of the land at the Black Rock car park.
“This would enable us to evict the group of van dwellers so that development work can go ahead.
“We needed to take action before the end of this week because of the Speed Trails event this Saturday.”
Plans approved in June last year detailed a major £12 million makeover which featured a new entrance to the site, intended to make it easier for people to come and go from the Asda car park at Brighton Marina on foot and by bike.
There are also proposals to improve biodiversity and accessibility the area, restore the Temple and Grade-II listed Old Reading Room and expand the sea wall.
A new public toilet and a “pump bike track” are also set to be built.
The Brighton Speed Trials – considered the oldest motoring event in the world – has been running on Madeira Drive since 1905 after resident Sir Harry Preston convinced the town council to tarmac the road for motoring events.
It was one of the first times tarmac had been used around the world.
For the first time in many years, motorcycles did not take part of the trials after the road failed a safety inspection.
According to organisers, this was due to the grip on the new, two-way cycle lane.
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