MORE practical legislation to allow local government to effectively deal with illegal traveller camps is being called for.

Illegal encampments are a well-documented problem in south Essex, particularly in Basildon, with the sprawling Dale Farm camp eviction capturing national headlines in 2011.

More recently, there have been issues in the Tesco car park on Langdon Hills, and at the Festival Leisure Park site.

An urgent consultation is now underway at national level, to look at what more can be done to allow local authorities, the police and landowners to deal with unauthorised sites.

Plans for the review were first announced in October, and it will run until June 15 this year.

Kevin Blake, a Burstead ward councillor, is hoping the review will throw up some big solutions for local traveller management.

He said: “The power I’d really like to see put in place is the Irish Option, however I am a realist and I understand that isn’t a quick fix and isn’t easy to implement.”

The so-called Irish Option, in a nutshell, treats deliberate trespassing as a criminal offence, rather than a civil one.

Mr Blake continued: “I absolutely support the Irish trespassing law, but I understand that it’s a large step and probably isn’t a top priority.

“Therefore what I would really like to see is for Section 61 to be adjusted.

“Under Section 61, police can go into an illegal traveller camp and serve them with a notice and the travellers have to leave the site.

“That doesn’t work though, because they can just move 100 yards down the road and then the police have to go in again.”

Council Labour leader Gavin Callaghan disagrees with the idea that the Irish Motion should be implemented.

He said: “The Irish legislation doesn’t work, as it states that everything is wrong, it’s Draconian.

“A traveller’s dog could go to a public park and go to the toilet there, like every dog does.

“The Irish legislation treats that dog as an object, meaning that the animal having gone to the toilet is a criminal offence.”

Mr Callaghan said he is working hard on what he calls more “realistic solutions” to the ongoing problems.

He added: “We’re looking for ways to deal with the cost of things like removing unsightly dumping and the clean-up job when travellers have moved on to another site.

“It’s unfair that the taxpayer must foot the bill for this right now.

“That’s not right.

“Expectation management is needed on this consultation.

“What could we do tomorrow that will benefit Basildon?”