A popular Birmingham attraction has been forced to close after travellers set up camp in their car park. A convoy of caravans moved on to the site in the heart of Bournville on Sunday.
The pavilion said they had ordered extra security measures following previous incursions but these were not in place to prevent the weekend arrival. They said they had to shut the landmark building which houses a cafe, church and a range of community groups and activities.
Rowheath Pavilion posted on their Facebook page; "A group of travellers has set up camp in our car park. We understand this will raise concerns among residents and want to assure you that we have escalated the matter to the police in the hope that the situation will be resolved as quickly as possible.
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"In the meantime we are closing Rowheath Pavilion to ensure the safety of all involved. We will keep you updated as we know more.
"As per our earlier post, we have some security measures on the way, though sadly they weren’t here in time to prevent this recent situation occurring. We hope that these will be installed in the coming month and these incidents will become a thing of the past.
"Thank you for your understanding."
The council has said previously with regards to traveller incursions: "Birmingham City Council is committed to actively protecting its land and will take steps to recover this land where unauthorised encampments encroach upon it. The council has useable transit sites and plots for use by the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community – which is in line with Government policy – and details of the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment carried out and updated in 2019 can be found on our website."
