In the early evening of Sunday 6th September, a group of trespassers brought vehicles and caravans onto the KGV Playing Fields. They entered in broad daylight through the main car park entrance on Browns Lane and then through the overflow car park gate which (unfortunately) had been left unlocked. As a result, they did not need to cut any locks or damage any gates to enter. The bollards were then raised at the main entrance resulting in the trespassers cutting the chain on the new gate at the Scout Hut, opening the gate and relocking it in the open position. It is not clear whether the padlock in the tamper proof box on the gate had actually been secured.
Police attended the site the same Sunday evening and were told the trespassers were in the area to attend a funeral locally. The Police advised they were not able to evict the trespassers because KGV is not public land.
Having researched and weighed complex factors including the legal position, the role of the Police, costs and so on, Trustees took appropriate action through private Bailiffs and the trespassers were evicted on Tuesday 15th September. A review of how carefully users are operating the normal security measures in place at the site is underway. Guildford Borough Council’s Joint Enforcement Team assessed the site for contamination then cleared the worst of the litter and waste the following day. Flytipping of green waste is still to be dealt with and plans are in hand for this. Trustees are immensely grateful that two residents have contacted us to ask if they can help with the clear-up.