Dale Farm Travellers seek permission to take case to Court of Appeal

A Court of Appeal judge will today hear an application by travellers at Dale Farm for permission to appeal one of the recent High Court judgments.

The hearing before Lord Justice Sullivan was set to start at 11 am this morning.

It is understood that Dale Farm residents are challenging the impartiality of Mr Justice Ouseley, who last week ruled in Basildon Council’s favour in various judicial reviews.

The High Court judge found, amongst other things, that the council’s actions were not disproportionate and that residents had delayed too long in bringing a legal challenge. But Mr Justice Ouseley also criticised Basildon for a range of shortcomings.

The judge refused the travellers leave to appeal. However, their representatives subsequently said they would look to take the case to the Court of Appeal.

According to Dale Farm Solidarity, concerns were raised about Mr Justice Ouseley's impartiality because he was responsible for a decision in September 2010 to reject a judicial review on the eviction of the Hovefields Travellers site, which is also in Basildon.

Basildon’s Leader, Cllr Tony Ball, last week vowed to “robustly pursue” the recovery of legal costs and the costs incurred as a result of the delays caused by court challenges.