Notice served to remove travellers from former Vaux brewery site

On Monday, September 7, over a dozen caravans and motorhomes were spotted on the council-owned land on Plater Way, which was once the site of the Vaux Brewery prior to its closure in 1999.

The site is considered unsuitable for encampment with action now being taken to remove the vehicles safely.

Yesterday, a Sunderland City Council spokesperson said: “In response to the travellers’ presence, a Council spokesperson said: “City Council officers have spoken to these travellers and the council is taking the appropriate legal and enforcement action.”

And in today’s update, the council spokesperson added: “We are taking all the necessary legal and enforcement actions we can to ensure this part of the former Vaux brewery site is vacated safely.

“A notice was served on the encampment today (Tuesday 8 September) confirming that, as the site is considered to be unsuitable for an encampment, it should be vacated in the next 24 hours.”

A public sector partnership purchased the derelict 26-acre site for £22m in 2011 with The Homes and Communities Agency funding £20m of the cost and One North East and Sunderland City Council funding £1m each.

Several redevelopment plans, including a new Council headquarters, are currently in the works on the site.

Groups of travellers have been spotted in several areas across the region during lockdown, including one in South Shields last month.

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