High Court judge to rule on Dale Farm next week as new JRs launched

Basildon Council and the Travellers at Dale Farm in Essex will have to wait until Monday at the earliest for a ruling on whether evictions at the site can proceed, the BBC has reported.

Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart said he would not rule until after the weekend. However, he added that the litigation should not be seen as “yet another springboard for delay”.

The judge said that anyone who thought this was “a long stay of execution while minor squabbles are carried out” must think again.

The wait comes amid media reports that two further applications for judicial review had been lodged, one of which is said to have come from the Gypsy Council.

Clearance of the site was expected to begin on Monday, but the High Court judge granted an interim injunction after a ‘without notice’ application by residents.

The order prevented the local authority from undertaking any physical measures to secure compliance with its outstanding planning enforcement notices. Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart also blocked the council from cutting the electricity and all other utilities at the site.