THURROCK Council is considering an application for five traveller caravans to be sited in Malvern Road.

This is on top of the numerous sites we already have in Thurrock.

It’s about time that neighbouring authorities provided suitable sites in their boroughs.

The current application is for an extended family who have been moved on by other local authorities, and as usual consider Thurrock to be a soft touch.

In the past we have suffered from unofficial sites, where travellers obtained access to land and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage, and costs to the council in evictions.

We even have one unofficial site in Palmer’s Drive.

The council gave a traveller family a four-bedroom house, but in no time it has grown to include a caravan on the front lawn, and a motor home on the drive, both with additional families.

Not all travellers cause problems for residents, not all are anti-social or bad people, but I believe Thurrock has done its bit in providing sites for the travelling community to put down some roots.

The bottom line is that we simply cannot accommodate everyone.

FRANK BILHAM Hillside, Grays.