Council leader Malcolm Buckley said the "right decision" had been taken at last night's meeting.

He said in the next few days the travellers will be served notices, giving them between two and four weeks to leave or face being evicted.

That is likely to happen despite the authority still having to agree to release the £1.5million at its next full council meeting on July 14 to cover the cost of the eviction.

He said technically the council could vote against releasing the cash and it would have to reconsider the action, although this is unlikely.

He said: "The decision was one solely on planning grounds.

"The appeal process had been carried all the way and John Prescott agreed the travellers should vacate the site, giving them two years to find alternatives. They either chose to or failed to do this."