Monday, September 26, 2011

Dale Farm: Travellers 'win' latest round in eviction fight

Dale Farm residents face eviction The council has been involved in a 10-year battle to clear 51 illegal plots at Dale Farm in Essex
Residents on the UK's largest illegal travellers' site have won a temporary reprieve in their battle to stay.
A High Court judge ruled travellers at Dale Farm in Essex were entitled to an extension of an injunction stopping their evictions.
He adjourned the case until Thursday saying the courts needed first to rule on the legality of their removal.
Basildon Council has been involved in a 10-year battle to clear 51 illegal plots from the site.
The authority has been challenging an injunction won by the travellers a week ago at the Royal Courts of Justice.
The injunction came just as the £18m eviction process was getting under way last week.
Negotiation call Reacting to the news, Dale Farm resident Kathleen McCarthy, said: "Every day is a blessing and we feel that at least our arguments are being listened to.
"One thing is certain: we will all stand together. Either we all go or none of us go, we will not let the council divide us."
She added: "We are still calling for the council to sit around the table and hold negotiations.
"It is costing the council money and there is still going to be a traveller site.
"We will resist the clearance and some of us could stay legally forever. This is in God's hands and who knows where it will end."
Basildon Council said it would be issuing a statement later following the court delay.
Last week, council leader Tony Ball said: "If we did not enforce the judgement we have been granted here, then how could any other local authority in the country impose planning controls?
"We cannot turn a blind eye to this. We have been waiting for 10 years so another few days will not matter."
Campaign group Dale Farm Solidarity said several high-profile figures had offered to mediate.
They include the Roman Catholic Bishop of Brentwood Thomas McMahon and Anglican Bishop of Chelmsford Stephen Cottrell, UN representatives and the local MEP Richard Howitt.
Kate O'Shea, from Dale Farm Solidarity, said: "We call on Tony Ball to return to the negotiation table."

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