Basildon wins latest round of Dale Farm judicial reviews, but appeal looks certain

Basildon Council has successfully fended off the latest judicial review challenges to its plans to clear the Dale Farm site, but lawyers representing residents are expected to launch an immediate appeal.

In a ruling issued this afternoon, High Court judge Mr Justice Ouseley said the local authority had acted lawfully.

The judge also suggested that it was “astonishing” that residents had delayed their legal action until almost the day of eviction.

The judicial reviews included an examination of the proportionality of taking direct action on a housing matter under planning legislation.

In a separate ruling last week, Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart gave Basildon permission to clear 49 out of 54 plots at Dale Farm, save for fences, gates and walls.

Earlier this week Basildon’s Leader, Cllr Tony Ball, called for a British Bill of Rights “as this would surely help local authorities in the face of opponents ready to manipulate Euro human rights legislation.”

In an article on the Conservative Home website, he also attacked the ability of protest groups to find “obscure legal routes to challenge the local authority”.