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26
Moveable Dwellings.
For the past three years I have drawn attention in my Annual
Reports to the nuisances arising from the presence of gypsy caravans
in the Northolt area. These caravans have no sanitary conveniences,
water supplies or means of disposing of refuse, and land on which
the caravans have been parked is often left in a very insanitary
condition. In addition to these Public Health nuisances, considerable
trouble is caused by the gypsies' horses straying on to
farm land and into gardens with consequent damage to crops.
Annoyance is also experienced by residents of houses near to gypsy
encampments owing to repeated demands for water.
Prior to the war, action was taken from time to time to move
caravans from the Northolt area, but the problem at that time
was not an acute one, as Northolt was largely a rural district and
the adjoining districts in West Middlesex had large undeveloped
areas where it was possible for gypsies to encamp without being
in close proximity to occupied houses. This position has now
changed ; Northolt is rapidly becoming an urban area as also are
the neighbouring districts in West Middlesex and the gypsies no
longer find it possible to encamp for more than a few days without
complaints being received by the Local Authorities concerned with
consequent action by the Officers of these Local Authorities to
have the caravans removed.
It appears that a number of these gypsies have used land in
West Middlesex as camping sites for many years as they like to
camp near large urban populations in order to make a living by
selling clothes pegs, artificial flowers, etc., and dealing in old iron
and rags. They are becoming resentful of the fact that the changed
character of West Middlesex has necessitated various Local Authorities
having to take action against them for creating nuisances.
There are no camping sites for gypsy caravans in this area
and I understand that all available undeveloped land in Northolt is
scheduled for other purposes ; there is, therefore, no alternative
to the Council's policy of endeavouring to secure the removal of
the caravans from the District in order to present the undoubted
nuisances and annoyance to residents which always arise from
gypsy caravan encampments near to occupied dwellings.
During the past four years large areas of Northolt have been
built upon and many undeveloped pieces of land have been fenced
as a result of action by this Department with the result that it is
becoming increasingly difficult for gypsies to find a site for their
caravans in this District and they have now started breaking on
to land which has not previously been used by them as caravan
encampments. At one time it was sufficient for the Sanitary
Inspector to warn the gypsies that unless they had moved within
forty-eight hours action would be taken against them and in the