The council has begun the process of evicting a group of Travellers with 21 caravans who arrived on Kew Green last night, Wednesday August 2.

Council officers visited to carry out a site assessment and requested that they move on, and reported that the group was not willing to leave or complete a welfare assessment.

The Council has now commenced the legal process to obtain and enforce a Possession Order.

It is expected that the process will take a number of days following a High Court order earlier this year meaning Richmond Council now has to go via the courts to evict Travellers.

The order was hailed a "victory for equality" by charity London Gypsies and Travellers, an organisation which challenges social exclusion and discrimination.

The Council said it will continue to liaise with the group and monitor the site along with Park Guard and the Police.

When the Travellers leave the Council will repair any damage and remove any waste left on the Green.

Traveller's rights campaigners say that simply moving families along is not a long-term solution and have urged councils to seek alternatives to automatically evicting Traveller families.

Back in May, London Gypsies and Travellers told Nub News: "We urge councils to seek alternatives to automatically evicting Traveller families in this way, such as Negotiated Stopping (non-confrontational, negotiated responses to Gypsy and Traveller roadside camps).

"Simply moving families out of the area is not a solution.

"The fundamental problem is the lack of authorised sites and legal stopping places for Gypsies and Travellers.

"A London-wide Accommodation Needs Assessment in 2008 identified a need for over 800 pitches (family unit) for Gypsy and Traveller families, but since then less than 10 pitches have been actually delivered across London Boroughs, so there is a huge unmet need.

"Councils also have a duty under the Equality Act to have regard to the needs of the Gypsy and Traveller community."

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