Emergency talks between Bradford Council and business leaders were demanded today to stop travellers continually setting up illegal pitches around the city.

One group which had camped on one of Bradford's busiest car parks in George Street left yesterday only hours before an eviction notice obtained by the Council came into force.

But they moved less than a mile away to a private car park by Arnold Laver's timber merchants in Canal Road.

Bradford Council has had to apply to the county court five times in the last six months to regain possession of its land from travellers .

And companies which have also had to evict the illegal encampments have spent thousands of pounds in court costs.

The leader of the Council's Conservative group Coun Margaret Eaton wrote today to the Council's chief executive Richard Penn asking for full reports on the Council's two official sites at Mary Street, Bradford, and Esholt.

"When is this circus going to end with the travellers moving from site to site in Bradford," she said.

"We no longer get reports to the housing committees about the site, as we used to. I want to know why gypsies are coming to Bradford and do not appear to be going to those sites, which are costly to run."

Bradford Chamber of Commerce has already spoken out about the cost to businesses of taking out injunctions and clearing up sites after they have gone.

And past president of Bradford Chamber of Trade, Mary Frame, said the matter would be put as an emergency item at its next meeting.

She said: "It is a matter of very great concern It isn't just the high cost of going to court to get the gypsies off private land - they are actually badly hampering business."

The chairman of the Council's housing services sub-committee Councillor Jim O'Neill said he was sure meetings could be called with businesses about the problems as action was necessary.

No-one in the 15 caravans near Arnold Laver would comment today.

But sales manager Graham Foulger of nearby upmarket car dealership Appleyard, which has sites for both Jaguar and Rover vehicles, said: "It's never going to do us any good. Having gypsies about puts people off coming down.

"The way they have been going round the whole of Bradford and dumping themselves on other people's car parks we will have to consider blocking off our car park too."

Since August there have been illegal travellers encampments at Bell Dean Road, Allerton; Knowles Lane, Holme Wood; Maestro Club car park; Transperience at Low Moor; Halford's store, Low Moor; Leeds Road, Thornton; a prestige building to let in Canal Road and George Street car park.

The Council's two official gipsy sites have a total of 48 pitches - 29 at Mary Street, Bowling Back Lane, Bradford and 19 at Esholt.

Officers say the sites are usually full and have a waiting list of people wanting to move on to them.

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