Travellers could be allowed to stay indefinitely on unauthorised sites in Moray under proposals which would remove limits on the length of time they can remain in one place.
But groups could be banned from having more than eight caravans on each site under a code of conduct proposed by housing bosses.
The code is part of a revised protocol aimed at helping council officers deal with unauthorised encampments in the area. In a report to go before councillors today, senior area housing manager Mike McClafferty says Moray Council already follows Scottish Government guidelines on managing unauthorised camps.
But the new protocol contains “a number of important” differences to the council’s previous approach. These include the removal of time limits dictating how long travellers can stay on “suitable” unauthorised sites.
Moray currently has no short or long-stay sites for travellers and Mr McClafferty says it would therefore be “inappropriate” to set prescribed time limits for groups.
But the behaviour of travellers will be key to them being permitted to stay. He adds: “It is important to understand that all Moray residents have a duty to show respect for their neighbours, and a failure to adhere to reasonable standards of behaviour will therefore result in action being taken by the council.”
Mr McClafferty intends to hold meetings to discuss possible action if groups stay in one place for six weeks, with a further meeting at least every four weeks until the encampment moved on.
Looking to other differences in the new protocol, Mr McClafferty says a “new set of standards” set out in a proposed code of conduct would allow the council to better “measure behaviour” of travellers.
The list of requirements includes keeping groups to a maximum of eight caravans, apart from in exceptional circumstances such as for weddings and funerals.
Travellers would also be expected to prevent dogs from “barking continuously”, dispose of rubbish in bins and bags and use toilets provided.
In addition, they would be banned from starting fires and would be asked to keep “reasonable control” of their children and to comply with the highway code.
Mr McClafferty says consistent breaches of the code “would form the basis of legal action to remove the offender from the encampment”.
Other proposed changes to the protocol include introducing formal site inspections after groups leave to assess damage. Last week, the Press and Journal highlighted problems at an unofficial travellers’ site near Linkwood Road, where one couple have been encamped for more than six months. They claimed they had nowhere else to go.
The council’s official site at the Chanonry, Elgin, was bulldozed recently after four men were found to be using it as a base for drug-dealing. They were jailed for a total of 24 years.