Lawyers to Dale Farm travellers prepare JR application after eviction notices served

The law firm acting for travellers at Dale Farm in Essex has confirmed that it is preparing an application for judicial review after Basildon Council served eviction notices requiring them to leave by the end of July.

Basildon today served notices on the occupants of 51 unauthorised pitches at Dale Farm, which is the largest travellers’ site in England.

The local authority warned that if the travellers did not leave, it would enter the land and remove all portable and fixed structures, hardcore and hard standings.

Basildon said it had offered to work with the affected families to assist them in their efforts to relocate and had encouraged the travellers to make homelessness applications.

Cllr Tony Ball, Leader of the Council, insisted that the authority had attempted to seek a peaceful resolution. “It is important to remember this is a greenbelt site and this development is not legal,” he argued, adding: “The law must be upheld equally and fairly in all cases and the council has made clear, for more than 10 years, its intention to clear this site and return it to a condition in keeping with its greenbelt status.”

However, Keith Lomax of law firm Davies Gore Lomax, which is advising the travellers at Dale Farm, told Local Government Lawyer that their next move would be to apply for judicial review within the next 28 days.

Service of the eviction notices comes just days after the local authority approved final funding arrangements for clearance of the unauthorised site. This includes £1.2m payable out of its contingency reserve. However, this amount will only be paid towards additional policing costs where those costs exceed £5.5m.

Philip Hoult