Residents lose eviction battle

residents lose eviction battle
By Gaby Leslie | Yahoo! News – 5 hours ago....tweet7EmailPrint.....Traveller families at Dale Farm have lost a High Court battle against eviction.

A High Court judge ruled on Wednesday afternoon that Basildon Council can now go ahead and clear 49 illegal plots at the UK's largest traveller's site which houses an estimated 400 people.

The travellers had previously tried to stop their removal from the site, in Essex, with three applications for judicial review.

However, the third judicial review was refused by the High Court.

Mr Justice Ouseley, sitting in London Wednesday, ruled they had delayed too long in challenging Basildon Council's decision to take direct action against them.

In September, the council brought in bailiffs to clear the site, but they were prevented from clearing the site after lawyers for the travellers obtained a high court injunction.

The eviction and the accompanying police operation are expected to cost the council an estimated £18 million.


[Gallery: Dale Farm eviction in photos]


Tony Collins, a director at an Essex-based planning consultancy Collins and Coward ,commented on the High Court ruling. He said: "While the anguish of the Dale Farm residents is no doubt both genuine and understandable, this judgment is a reiteration of what the case is all about - planning law.

"Amid all the talk of human rights and the emotive subject of eviction, it has been easy to lose sight of the core dispute, which is one of planning law.

"It's about unauthorised development on Green Belt land. The rules on this are clear, and apply to everyone. Suggestions that the traveller community is being unfairly targeted are greatly overblown.

"These homes should never have been built, and now the due legal process has been followed, they must go. To let them remain would set a clear precedent of ignoring unauthorised development in the Green Belt.".
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About time!

Tony Collins. At last a voice of reason in the middle of madness.

Quite right too. They bought that land knowing full well it had no planning permission, they would have paid 8x to 10x as much if it had. Then they blatantly flouted the planning regulations, if the Council let it go, what message would that have sent out?

what made me laugh was the Irish Woman interviewed when supporters demonstrated a few weeks ago. She said the Travellers had Human
Rights too and their right was to be a Traveller. How the Hell could they be regarded as Travellers when they have taken root at Dale Farm.??

Their children attend the local School and many have Homes back in Ireland.Well done that Judge for showing common sense.

I agree with all thats said here. At long last the planning law which should apply to everyone is upheld.

Just heard Police markmen covering disturbances at Dale Farm were required to open fire three times today. They won a goldfish, a teddy bear and an inflatable hammer.

Lioned wrote:Just heard Police markmen covering disturbances at Dale Farm were required to open fire three times today. They won a goldfish, a teddy bear and an inflatable hammer.

I heard on the news on Thursday that there were around 25 "travellers" on the site but over 2000 "supporters" there.

These are the professional troublemakers that spend their lives collecting benefits then going causing trouble on behalf of others "pet causes" when all LAWFUL means are exhausted.

Travellers were offered others sites and housing over the 10 years but they wanted to stay together illegally.

It annoyed me that the European MP for Essex was the one that brought in the UN and compared "evicting" (wrong word legally - simply removal of illegal structures as they own the land) these people with the mass evictions in China. What??

gillyspot wrote:I heard on the news on Thursday that there were around 25 "travellers" on the site but over 2000 "supporters" there.

These are the professional troublemakers that spend their lives collecting benefits then going causing trouble on behalf of others "pet causes" when all LAWFUL means are exhausted.

Travellers were offered others sites and housing over the 10 years but they wanted to stay together illegally.

It annoyed me that the European MP for Essex was the one that brought in the UN and compared "evicting" (wrong word legally - simply removal of illegal structures as they own the land) these people with the mass evictions in China. What??

Those supporters are more worthy of the title travelers than the residents. The supporters are probably the same people who sat in the trees at Newbury and who have been traveling around from one worthy cause to another ever since.

Agreed but only causes "worthy" in their eyes.

The Dale Farm "residents" broke the law by putting "permanent structures" on greenbelt (not the scrapyard) land without planning permission. Where did they get the money to go through the courts. If the Council spent £millions on it then they did too. Where did they get the £'s?

THERE IS GOING TO BE A PANORMA PROGRAMME ON THURSDAY ABOUT DALE FARM.

Thanks Bb x

All the men where hiding as they didnt want to be recognised for their dodgy work and tax evasion !