Dale Farm travellers win further reprieve

Travellers at Dale Farm in Essex have won the latest round of their legal battle to stay at the site.

Contractors and local council officials from Basildon Council have been trying to evict the travellers from the site because they claimed areas had been developed without planning consent.

Bailiffs were expected to begin clearing areas on Monday (26 September). But the travellers’ legal team lodged two further applications for a judicial review at the High Court.

One of the judges at the hearing in London said that he would not rule on whether to extend a current injunction before next week (Monday 3 October).

If granted, the new submissions could draw the process out for several more weeks, increasing the costs of the process by millions of pounds.

Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart warned both parties that the hearings must not be used as “yet another springboard for delay”.

He also urged both sides to proceed “with dignity” and said that any evictions must be carried out “in a sensitive and sensible way”.

Watch our video interview with Dale Farm travellers.

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