Month: July 2025

I am happy to say that illegal encampment at Victoria Park was moved on Friday (4 July) evening by Malvern police after a heighten number of calls regarding anti-social behaviour.  

It has been a tense week for all involved including our community, and I can assure residents and businesses that Malvern Town Council did its utmost to find ways to remove the illegal encampment off our site at Victoria Park prior to Friday. Unfortunately we had to follow legal protocol and on Friday morning had put measures in place to act via a court order to evict, but thankfully in the end the Police did step in and placed an order to vacate that evening.

I want to thank the Malvern Town Council Operations team, who have done a fantastic job tidying up the mess that the illegal encampment had left at Victoria Park. Their work has ensured that the park is safe for the community to use again.

At the weekend, I was pleased to see the playground full of little ones, games of rounders taken place and dog walkers returning to the park. It was also great to see the community coming to enjoy a coffee and cake at the Bilberry Café.

I understand the feeling of anxiousness you all must have felt during this difficult situation, and I want to thank, you our fantastic community for pulling together, providing resilience and supporting us and each other during this time. Malvern Town Council staff and councillors have really appreciated your patience during this situation.

I want to ensure everyone that it is my intention to hold a debriefing meeting so we can learn from this situation and secure our green spaces in the future with the support and assistance of the relevant organisations and authorities moving forward.

Marilyn Birks, Mayor of Malvern

The Town Council would like to apologise to local residents for the inconvenience caused by the unauthorised encampment at Victoria Park.

Travellers moved onto the site late on Sunday (29 June) evening and the Town Council acted swiftly under the common law powers open to it requesting that the trespassers leave the site by 5pm on Monday 30June, they refused.

The Town Council has since worked with the police to manage the situation, explore all possible options and pursue a resolution.  We are grateful for Police support over this period of time, but it has become clear that the Police cannot use their powers to evict the group.

Further dialogue took place on Wednesday, and it has been made clear by those on the site that any attempt to remove the caravans will be met with resistance. There are very specific laws and powers that can be used in this situation and making legal eviction impossible.

The Town Council is now seeking the only remedy left open to it which is a Court order to evict. This will be issued as soon as possible.

We would like to stress that the Play area, Basketball courts, Tennis courts and on-site Café are all unaffected by the encampment and remain open for members of the public.

Are you a photographer? Like taking pictures? want to be entered into a competition?

We are looking for members of our community to take the best picture of Great Malvern Cemetery to be entered into ICCM photograph competition 2025.

The winner will have the chance to entered into the ICCM competition where shortlisted entries will have their photo displayed in The ICCM Journal and at their Learning Conference in September. Winners will also have their photos displayed on the Malvern Town Council website and social media with a dedicate article.

All photos must not include any identifiable individual within them and entries will close at 4pm on 18 July.

To enter either drop your photos in at the Community Hub, Victoria Park, Malvern Link or email Lyndsey at ldavies@malvern-tc.org.uk your images.