Travellers could soon be forced to move on much quicker from Basildon’s parks and industrial areas as the council seek powers to wage war on illegal camps.

The council wants the High Court to issue a specialised injunction to prevent unauthorised encampments on a large part of Basildon, including Rushley Park and Cranes Farm Industrial area.

The new powers would be similar to those that already exist in Harlow, which names 322 vulnerable sites including parks and playgrounds, business areas, schools and cycle tracks. Although travellers and other people will still be able to set up unauthorised encampments, if granted, the injunction will mean it is much quicker to move them on.The High Court ordered that the application for an injunction be listed for hearing on November 6.

Gavin Callaghan, chairman of the council’s resource and finance committee, said it would be a massive step forward for the town.

He said: “The injunction won’t stop travellers coming to Basildon, but it will mean that it won’t take six or seven days to move them on, and it will stop them from just moving 100 metres up the road.

“Currently, if there are more than six caravans, they can be moved on quicker through a section 61 order, but they used to just split into smaller groups which makes them harder to move on.

“They would also not be able to do this if the injunction was granted.”

He added that they were unable to get an injunction to cover the entirety of Basildon - which is the case in Harlow - because it was too big, but had identified specific problem areas which would be covered under the injunction.

He said that while there was evidence to support their claim, it was down to the judge on the day. Mr Callaghan also added that there was no set timescale that the encampments can be moved on, but the speed of reaction will be faster with the injunction. He said: “I cannot say it is a 24 hour thing, but we will be able to move the camps on a hell of a lot quicker than we used to.”