A Gypsy/Traveller at the encampment at St Fittick’s Park in Aberdeen has blasted the council’s lack of provision for the community.
His claims come as Aberdeen City Council launched legal action on Monday to remove the group from the Torry park.
However, four caravans and four work vans were still at the site on Thursday morning.
The local authority has said it can take up to two weeks to process the court action.
The 35-year-old man told the Press & Journal that “it makes sense” to provide facilities for Travelling communities, adding: “We’re not scum, we’re not rubbish.”
Travellers in Aberdeen on business
It was reported on Monday the camp was from Newcastle and were in the area due to “grief in the family”.
However, the man said this was not the case and that they are in Aberdeen on “business” for a week to do fencing and paving.
Prior to coming to the Granite City, the man said they were in Inverness and praised the council’s approach, which included portable toilets and a bin being provided, saying this “makes sense”.
In Aberdeen, there is only one official Gypsy/Traveller site, which is located at Clinterty on the boundary of the city and Aberdeenshire.
The site has 17 permanent pitches and four short-term ones, with a waiting list to get onto the complex.
In April, it was announced Aberdeen City Council were looking for contractors as part of plans to demolish all the existing plots at the location and rebuild them at a cost of £4.3million as part of an upgrade to benefit users.
The man said he would use specific facilities for Travellers, but only “if it was safe there for the kids”.
‘They put a Gypsy anywhere’
Hitting out at the council’s current approach, he said: “They put a Gypsy anywhere. They come down here and make us move off here and we’ll go three or four miles on the road.”
He also criticised local authorities for not letting the community use public waste and recycling facilities, saying “it’s all about given and taking a little bit”.
One approach to stopping illegal encampments by authorities is to put up gates and fences, however, he does not think that this approach will work.
The man added: “You know what the Gypsies do when they put fences up.”
Despite concerns from local residents, he said the nearby community had a lot in common with the group of Travellers, describing them as “friends” and “rough and ready people like we are”.
He added local schoolkids speak to them on their way home from class and get to go on the horse if they want to.
Urging people to understand the cultures of the various Travelling communities, he added: “Gypsies have been doing this for thousands of years, you get good Gypsies, you get bad Gypsies. You get good and bad in all communities.”
‘Travellers stay for longer than we would like’
Torry and Ferryhill councillor, Michael Kusznir, who reported the illegal encampment to the council said: “I think past experiences show that they (Travellers) stay for longer than we would like them to.
“With the council spending money on it (Clinterty), that doesn’t mean that people can illegally camp out on one of the only greenspaces in Torry.”
An Aberdeen City Council spokesman said: “We are progressing court action but this can take up to two weeks as the date is dependent on how busy the court is.
“We have one dedicated Traveller site located at Clinterty which provides 17 permanent pitches and four short-term pitches. This is currently in the process of being closed ahead of a major upgrade of facilities at the site for the benefit of users.
“Where there are unauthorised we aim to promote good relations and try to balance the needs of the Travellers with those of the local settled community and businesses.”
Conversation