Irish Travelers prepare for ugly eviction at Dale Farm

One last appeal plan by families as bailiffs wait for green light

CATHAL DERVAN,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Thursday, October 13, 2011, 8:13 AM

Updated Thursday, October 13, 2011, 10:38 AM

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Dale farm

The Irish Travelers facing eviction from Britain’s largest caravan site will launch one last legal bid to prevent their eviction after their latest defeat in the English courts.

Hundreds of families face eviction from 49 of the 54 illegal pitches at the Dale Farm site outside the Essex town of Basildon after the latest court ruling.

A judge at London’s Royal Courts of Justice ruled that Basildon Council are entitled to evict the families from the illegal sites at the Dale Farm encampment, the third legal defeat in a row for the Travelers.

Justice Ouseley urged the families to accept his judgement and move away from the site before they are forcibly evicted.

The Travelers and their supporters are now planning one last appeal to the courts and expect to lodge documents with Justice Ouseley by close of business on Thursday.

“We want this to be heard as quickly as possible early next week,” said gypsy council member Candy Sheridan.

Camp resident Kathleen McCarthy summed up the disappointment within the 400 strong community on site. She said: “If we keep going we might win something and get a judge who is a human being who understands that putting people on the side of the road is not a human thing to do.” Supporters on site said the Travelers are distressed and prepared for the worst.

Campaigner Jake Fulton told reporters: “They are steeling themselves for a very brutal eviction. We will be resisting non-violently, but we can’t necessarily say the same for the bailiffs.”

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The Council has been given permission by the courts to clear 49 of the 54 pitches on the illegally-developed plots but walls, fencings and hard-standing surfaces laid over the years will have to stay.

In his ruling, Justice Ouseley said it was ‘astonishing’ that the Travelers had left their legal action against the council so late.

“It is the residents of Dale Farm who have to comply with the obligation to leave voluntarily. If the removal becomes forcible it would be because of decisions made by the residents not to comply,” he said.

Basildon Council has welcomed the latest court decision and vowed to press ahead with the eviction.

Council leader and Conservative Party member Tony Ball said: “The residents of the illegal settlement have now had their day in court.

“For almost three weeks every aspect of the council’s decision to clear Dale Farm has been scrutinized in great detail.

“Our position has been upheld. Having engaged with the legal system, they must now abide by the result. They have reached the end of the day and they should reflect on what the judge said, that the criminal law applies to all equally.

“The supporters who have stayed with the Travelers on site should stand down and preferably leave the site. If they have the Travelers’ best interest at heart they will do this.

“There is nothing to be gained by their continued resistance and certainly not if it involves violence and other forms of law-breaking as some have suggested.

“If anyone needs help we will help. If anyone is concerned about becoming homeless they should contact our housing department. There is no need for the vulnerable, the young or the elderly to live on the roadside.”

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jamieLM | Oct 14, 2011, 06:34 PM EDT

Thank you, Towngate, for trying to enlighten me on this subject. I can see that it's complicated when there are people who are trying to preserve their culture and who are at such odds with the English people and their culture and laws. I don't see anything romantic about this situation. No country likes people violating their laws and taking monetary advantage of them without paying into the system. I'm just glad I don't have the responsibility of sorting this all out. Have a good weekend, Towngate. Btw: the young Travelers on the series didn't think they needed much education. Most of them dropped out of school very early and some were barely literate. Lack of education keeps them from doing much more than minimum labor jobs. Young girls had no expectations other than keeping the trailer clean, having babies, and waiting hand-and-foot on their husbands.

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Towngate | Oct 14, 2011, 08:02 AM EDT

Well, jamieLM, we meet again! To the well-known saying 'a little knowledge is a dangerous thing',I like to counter: 'yes,but not nearly as dangerous as none at all!'. ~ This subject is a broad one,and in essence, highlights Mainstream Society's approach to an Identified Group within it, who fundamentally wish to retain their Traditional Itinerant Culture by remaining outside it! ~ Every Local Authority in the UK is obliged by Law to provide 'Halting Sites' for them to rest and over-winter on. Dale Farm in Essex is such a site. The problem has arisen because the residents on the Official halting site bought up adjoining agricultural land and established a seperate illegal Camp without Applying for Planning Permission for residential use and in defiance of Statuary Building Regulations. Following ten years of complaints of disruption to the local rural community and requests from the Local Authority, the UK born 'Travellers' have failed to comply, so after 'due process in Court, we arrive at the point of Eviction - but only from the illegal half. The Legal residents can stay. The Basildon Council has offered large houses in the surrounding area to each of the families affected,to help conserve the commmunity, but they were refused. ~ ~ ~ Right jamie, I hope this helps to shed a bit of light in the subject for you. ~ ~ ~ I like the notion of a free-spirited peoples preserving their ancient birthright, and all that, but don't confuse this situation with that romance! This group of 'travellers' want to stay put, and avail of free education and health care and all the other benefits of British society, without making any financial contribution whatsoever towards it! ~~~ I do not intend in this comment to be controversial,so, read some more and make up your own mind about this topic.

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jamieLM | Oct 13, 2011, 10:30 AM EDT

As an American, I know next to nothing about Travelers. I'm assuming they aren't paying anyone for the land they're camped on. That would be illegal in the U.S., too. I did see the "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" series and the Travelers were talking about not wanting a toilet in their trailers - against their culture. Are sanitation issues also a problem that authorities are concerned about? These weddings cost a LOT of money, so I'm wondering if they cut back on the weddings, might they not have some money to pay rent? Why are these Irish Travelers living in England? Is it because of job opportunities? There seems to be a lot of controversy surrounding the Travelers and their life style. We used to have traveling Gypsies in America, but they seem to have assimilated into Am. society.

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