A GROUP of travellers with about 15 to 20 caravans have arrived on fields behind Thornbury Barracks.
According to one local resident, the travellers arrived over the weekend on land off Woodhall Lane.
The travellers appeared to have gained access to the site through a gate on Woodhall Lane and there are tyre tracks across one field that lead to a field adjacent to the ground used by Thornbury Cricket Club.
Another local resident said: "Once again after a number of months, travellers have moved on to land behind the Thornbury Barracks.
"This time they set up camp on fields further away from Woodhall Road, so they are not visible but you can see the cars and caravans behind vegetation and trees.
"You can already see a lot of litter and tyre tracks on the playing fields.
"I believe the council need to do more to secure the gates on Woodhall Lane to prevent further access again as this is council land."
Another local resident said the travellers have not caused any problems and added: "If that's where they want to live that's up to them".
A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: “It is unfortunate that travellers have returned to Woodhall playing fields.
"The gypsy and traveller team have visited the site, and as we have an existing order that was secured on June 23, 2022, we believe that we will be able to evict the group soon. We are working with legal colleagues on this option, and we should be able to provide a further update later.
"Rest assured that the council is doing all that we can to avoid situations like this. To help prevent access to the fields, boulders have already been installed.
"However, there is a gate that is required for horticultural maintenance equipment, which despite having a double chain and padlock, has unfortunately been breached.
"A new gate was recently ordered and is expected to be delivered in around six weeks. This should help prevent future unauthorised access to this site.”
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