Dale Farm Travellers lose legal battle against eviction

High court rules Basildon council can proceed with removing families from site in Essex Lawyers for Travellers at Dale Farm have failed in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the eviction of families from the site. They had applied for a temporary injunction to stop Basildon borough council evicting the families from Dale Farm in Essex from midnight on Wednesday nigfht/Thursday morning. The case hinged on the circumstances of 72-year-old Mary Flynn who has breathing problems and uses an electric nebuliser. The high court in London has now dismissed the application. But Basildon borough council gave a legal undertaking to review fresh medical evidence relating to Flynn before proceeding against her. Mr Justice Kenneth Parker said that 2009 proceedings in the court of appeal relating to Dale Farm were of “crucial significance”. That court had concluded that the council’s decision to enforce was entirely lawful in that the article 8 rights had been considered a number of times and the proper procedure followed. He rejected the claim that a further step had to be taken enabling specific individuals facing enforcement to have access to an independent tribunal. He said: “It is in the public interest that there should be finality to litigation and only exceptionally can decisions and judgments which have been determined by the courts reopened.” Refusing the injunction, he said the only aspect which gave him some concern was medical evidence received on Tuesday of significant deterioration in Flynn’s condition since the court of appeal decision. The judge was told by lawyers for the council that this fresh material would be considered before proceeding against her. The judge refused permission to appeal although lawyers for the travellers can apply directly to the court of appeal. Stuart Agnew, the UK Independence Party MEP for the east of England, welcomed the decision. He said: “I am increasingly astonished to hear religious leaders, politicians and now, even an actress, calling for the laws of the land to be set aside to accommodate the Travellers who have illegally taken over the site at Dale Farm. “We cannot have laws that are only enforced on parts of the community. The law should be for everybody. “Do we really want to set the precedent that if people occupy land without planning permission and stay there long enough, they will be given retrospective permission to remain, in contravention of the law? I am sure that most residents in the Crays Hill area would support the enforcement of the law. “I have had to follow strict planning regulations in putting buildings on my farm and I expect Travellers to be subject to the same regulations. In my view, the rule of law must be respected. The alternative is anarchy.” Dale Farm Roma, Gypsies and Travellers Housing Communities guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 31, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.