Inside Salisbury: Downton man evicted
Repeated dumping and burning of rubbish led to eviction
by Annette J Beveridge
A MAN has been successfully evicted from a council-owned Gypsy and Traveller site following ongoing anti-social behaviour.
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, who lived at the Lode Hill Caravan Site in Downton, caused a nuisance to other residents and damage to the environment through burning general waste in sacks and bin bags, plastic, wood, PVC doors, fibreglass loft insulation and carpet, as well as fridges and freezers.
He was advised by the council to clear up the waste next to his pitch in the communal parking and turning area and warned to stop burning rubbish. Several verbal and written warnings were issued to stop the behaviour but he refused to stop.
Cabinet Member for Housing, Phil Alford, 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.”
The family were served a notice of eviction after ignoring legally enforceable warnings and notices, but he failed to comply with them.
Following a trial hearing on Friday, August 9, 2024, the council was granted outright possession of the plot at Lode Hill Caravan Site and the family was given until Monday, September, 232024 to leave. This did not happen so Mr Willett and family were evicted by bailiffs on Thursday, November 7.
Cllr Alford said: “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.”
