Travellers given 24 hours to vacate Mabley Green

Mabley Green. Photograph: Emmanuel Mair

Hackney Council have today served a 24-hour ultimatum to a group of travellers to leave Mabley Green.

The travellers, thought to be Irish, set up caravans in the area last Thursday but could face an urgent court order if they do not comply with the council’s notice.

Hackney Council had seemed poised to give the group until 27 December to vacate the site but after fly-tipping vehicles were found at the scene earlier today, a 24-hour Section 77 notice was served.

Councillor Sophie Linden, Deputy Mayor of Hackney, said: “The council met the travellers and talked with them to find a solution to the problem but unfortunately this did not prove possible.

“We are determined to protect our parks and open spaces for the enjoyment of all residents. We do not permit unauthorised encampments and where necessary we will take legal action to enforce the occupants’ removal.”

Hackney Council obtained an injunction against an ‘unauthorised encampment’ on Stoke Newington Common in June 2012, though it is understood that the travellers on Mabley Green are a different group.

When asked about the situation by the Hackney Citizen, a member of the group declined to comment.

In what the council is currently treating as a separate incident, 49 tonnes of waste covering an area the size of a football field was dumped on Mabley Green over the weekend.

Cleanup and repair costs are likely to greatly exceed the current amount of £10,500.

Councillor Feryal Demirci, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “We will not tolerate criminal and anti-social behaviour such as this shocking example of fly-tipping.

“We will do everything we can to make sure that people who fly tip in Hackney are brought to justice.”

Hackney Council is now carrying out an investigation to identify the perpetrators who dumped the domestic construction waste including broken glass and rubble.