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Act, and conditions have been attached to the new licences in order
to bring these sites up to the requirements of the Model Standards.
Frequent inspections are made of the sites and they are maintained
in a reasonably satisfactory condition.
(b) LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
During the year 26 prosecutions were instituted concerning
offences under the Act and contraventions of site licence conditions.
A total of £170 in fines was imposed by the Magistrates Court.
(c) GIPSY ENCAMPMENTS
A large number of gipsy caravans visit the district throughout
the year and encamp on unfenced parcels of land, mainly in the
northern end of the Borough.
These nomads cause a considerable nuisance to the householders
in the neighbourhood of the encampments by their persistant
demands for water, their very low standards of hygiene and the
refuse they leave behind when breaking camp.
The Public Health Inspectors have to spend a considerable
amount of time in securing the removal of these people, and in the
majority of cases they have to resort to towing the caravans off the
land with assistance of tractors from the Parks Department and the
protection of the police. The police have been very helpful in
rendering assistance for this purpose. During the year the Public
Health Inspectors made no less than 291 visits to gipsy encampments.
The owners of a number of these pieces of land have been
persuaded to fence them in or to form other barriers to keep the
gipsies off and the Council have authorised expenditure for the
erection of barriers on pieces of land where the owners are not
known.
It is hoped that by these means the gipsies will eventually be
dissuaded from visiting this town.
(vii) Prevention of Damage by Pests Act, 1949
It is the duty of every local authority, under the above Act, to
take such teps as may be necessary to secure as far as practicable
that their district is kept free from rats and mice.
The local authority also have a specific liability to ensure, as far
as practicable, that all land and buildings occupied by them are kept
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