Report an unauthorised encampment
What to do in an emergency:
If there’s a danger to life, threat of violence or a crime in progress, call 999
An unauthorised encampment is when people live in vehicles, tents, or similar structures on any land without permission.
What you can report
You can report an unauthorised encampment that’s anywhere within Walsall borough.
If you need to report a crime related to an encampment, you should contact the police.
Before you begin
To report an encampment, you'll need to tell us:
- where it is
- how long it’s been there
- roughly how many caravans/vehicles there are
- if you’ve reported it to anyone else (include reference numbers, if you have them)
You can also provide photos, if it is safe to do so.
How to report an unauthorised encampment
Watch our short video to see how to complete the report form.
You can also:
- go to a Walsall Connected hub, where we'll show you how to use our reporting forms
- phone the customer experience centre and we will take you through the process
Make your report
Protecting your information
Any data collected as part of the application will be used in accordance with data protection law and the UK GDPR. Find out more about how we process your data.
What happens next
We need to balance the rights of people living in the encampment with the rights of landowners and the local community. We will use the best powers we have for the site.
We treat unauthorised encampments as high priority. They usually take five to seven working days to remove. Some encampments may take longer to remove than others if, for example, there is ill health on site or another serious issue.
When an encampment arrives, we’ll visit the site. We will assess any risks to people on site and in the local area. We'll also log the vehicles on site and carry out welfare checks.
If there are welfare needs, we may allow the encampment to stay for a short time while those needs are addressed.
If we don’t find any issues, we will serve a notice asking people to leave within a set time. If they don’t, we can apply to the court for an eviction order. If this is granted, we’ll arrange the eviction.
If needed, we’ll clean the site after the encampment has left. We’ll also review the site’s security.
Injunction sites
Injunctions were in force between 2016 and 2021 to help remove unauthorised encampments on specific sites more quickly.
We currently follow the standard Magistrate or County Court process. Should any sites become targeted in the future, we’ll consider re-applying for an injunction.
If we think an encampment is high risk or there are a lot of complaints about anti-social behaviour, crime and disorder, we’ll work with the police to decide how best to deal with it.
In some cases, the police may use their powers to remove the encampment without going to court.
We will contact the landowner to check if the encampment has permission and if they need any support or advice to regain their land. If we can't contact the landowner, or the land does not belong to anyone, we'll decide if it is right for us to evict the encampment.
Our communications team will respond to requests for information from the media.
