NEWPORT City Council has said it will be moving on an unauthorised encampment at Lysaght's Park "as quickly as possible".

In a statement on Friday, March 25, the council said it was aware of the encampment which has set up at Lysaght's Park, known locally as the Chem.

The statement goes on to say that the council is seeking to move the vehicles at the encampment on as quickly as possible.

The camp is located on public green space and has not been authorised.

Newport has several authorised and private Gypsy and Traveller sites, often owned by single families.

To develop a private site, planning permission must be obtained.

An unauthorised encampment is when land is occupied without the permission of the owner.

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Newport council and Gwent Police have signed up to a clearly defined protocol in such cases where the rights of both the landowners and those occupying the land are respected.

There are several actions that must be taken if the encampment is on council-owned land.

The site must first be visited to see how it impacts on the community, relevant partners must be informed, then a decision must be made whether to tolerate or evict the encampment.

If the camp is tolerated, then the occupiers must follow a code of conduct or they may face eviction.

If the decision is made to evict the camp, the council must get a court order and explain why the encampment cannot be tolerated.

The occupiers of the encampment are given a date on which they must leave by if the court order is granted.