Some Bargee Travellers are likely to be moored in places where they could be vulnerable to eviction on grounds of trespass, especially if they are not on CRT waterways and are moored to local authority or private land. The most common procedure for eviction of trespassers is under Part 55 of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). Evictions of trespassers under Part 55 were suspended for almost one month, but have now been re-instated.
An amendment to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) was issued on 27th March 2020 (CPR Practice Direction 51Z) which had stayed all CPR Part 55 possession actions for 90 days. Unfortunately on 20th April 2020, this new Practice Direction was itself amended to allow actions against trespassers which, of course, includes actions against so-called unauthorised moorings.
Below you can download bulletins for England and Wales from the Travellers Advice Team which explain this in more detail and also include a copy of the much delayed Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) guidance on coronavirus and unauthorised encampments. This guidance was finally delivered on 16th April 2020 in the form of a letter to English local authorities from Stephen Greenhalgh, Minister for Communities. A similar letter from the Welsh Government to local authorities was sent on 26th March.