Overview
- More than 40 caravans, motorhomes and vehicles set up on Old Quarry Park, Barnes Hill, with most arrivals occurring on Tuesday night and leaving a large encampment in place.
- The site sits yards from an Asda, a girls' secondary school and a fire station and aerial images show driving over and visible damage to the playing fields.
- Nearby residents say they are 'living in fear' and report worries about mess and theft that have reduced use of the park and increased local tension.
- Birmingham City Council has said it will take steps to recover its land and has pointed to usable transit sites for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, but no removal has been confirmed.
- The incident feeds into a wider pattern of contested unauthorised sites after a planning inspector recently allowed a former illegal camp in Blaby to remain until 2029, raising questions about how enforcement and appeals will play out.