Edinburgh council to explore solutions action after tensions between travellers and local residents

It comes amid recent tensions between travellers and local residents in the capital, with encampments recently being set up in public spaces in Newcraighall and Drumbrae

Council leader and Labour councillor Jane Meagher proposes developing a permanent traveller site in the city over concerns around ‘illegal’ sites and encampments.

In a motion to the council, she wrote that the “Council notes with concern the increasing number of illegal traveller sites and encampments across the city.”

She further wrote that a permanent site would “provide a secure and safe environment for both travellers and residents who live nearby.”

Meanwhile, Green councillor Alys Mumford also put out a motion, calling for the traveller community in the city to be better supported.

She said that anti-traveller discrimination was “one of the last ‘respectable forms of racism’”.

On Wednesday, May 14, around 20 caravans were spotted on the football pitches at Newcraighall Park | National World

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Cllr Miller said that the city should uphold the rights of travellers, and that “traveller communities are still one of the groups in Scotland most likely to experience social, educational, and labour market exclusion, poor health, and poverty in Scotland.”

She urged the council to “seek to find ways to facilitate traveller communities to visit or live in Edinburgh in a way which responds to their cultural heritage, while managing any potential conflicts which might arise from perceived differences in ways of living.”

Both Cllrs Meagher and Mumford called for a report to be compiled by officers by September for the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee on the topic.

Cllr Meagher asked officers to explore potential permanent sites for the traveller community in her motion.

Cllr Mumford asked for a broader report, exploring “how [the council] can consult with traveller communities and expert groups to present a range of options to better support travellers in Edinburgh.”

Both motions came just before an incident at Drumbrae leisure centre on Wednesday.

A group of travellers entered a green space behind the leisure centre, which had been fenced off, and set up a campsite.

Police Scotland attended the site, and a 47-year-old man was arrested and verbally cautioned.

And last month, a traveller encampment on the football pitches in Newcraighall Park sprouted tension among locals.

A sports day and several children’s football matches were cancelled, and residents complained of waste and rubbish being left behind.

The travellers moved on after a week, with council staff cleaning up the site.

Travellers often set up at several sites in Edinburgh, including Cramond Beach, Gipsy Brae and the area around the Fort Kinnaird shopping centre.

Edinburgh has no designated sites for travellers, however some Scottish councils do.

East Lothian and Midlothian historically shared a traveller campsite at Old Dalkeith Coillery, however this closed in 2021.

Historically, Edinburgh had a designated traveller site at Duddingston, but this has since closed.

Cllrs Meagher and Mumford’s motions will be discussed at the next full Edinburgh council meeting, set to take place on Thursday, 19 June, which you can view here.