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| Britain |
| More than 1,000 travellers face eviction after Appeal Court rules giant camp is illegal. |
| 2009-01-23 |
| A thousand travellers living at two of Europe's biggest illegal camps were ordered to quit the sites by the Court of Appeal yesterday following years of legal wrangling. Homeowners initially welcomed the announcement, which they said would end years of obscene, criminal and anti-social behaviour, as well as restore the value of their homes. But celebrations were short-lived after it emerged the families at Crays Hill, near Billericay in Essex, and Hovefields, at nearby Wickford, were planning to request a High Court injunction to block eviction until their case can be heard by the House of Lords. This could extend their stay by months and, in a further snub to the legal ruling, many are planning to create a 'tent city' on nearby land which they have bought if it is upheld. Len Gridley, whose bungalow backs on to the Crays Hill site and has seen its value plummet £300,000 since the travellers arrived, said: 'We have won a battle but not the war. The authorities should stop all this legal aid for the travellers because they already have more money and property than we'll ever have. They have stated they own land and properties all over the place. As long as they have got someone else's money to spend they will always find a way to stay by appealing and appealing.' Jill Walsh, who lives beside the Hovefields site, said: 'I won't see it as the end of the matter until they have been denied an appeal to the House of Lords.' Malcolm Buckley, leader of Basildon Council, said he was pleased with the Appeal Court ruling but admitted he might not be able to take action if the travellers set up another camp nearby. Graham Puxton, a spokesman for the travellers, said they had been buying up land between the two sites in case they have to move. Some of the families living at Dale Farm first settled there in the 1960s and permission was granted for 40 families. But over the years more travellers have settled at the site without permission and also on nearby Five Acres Farm. Lord Justice Pill said there was a problem for traveller families caused by the limited areas where they may lawfully park. He said in each case the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government had upheld the enforcement notice and refused permission. Since 1990 the total number of gypsy and traveller caravans had increased nationally by 44 per cent, he said. In the Basildon District, the increase was over 475 per cent and the area now housed 40 per cent of Essex's traveller families. Lord Justice Pill said it had been suggested by the council that the cheapness of Green Belt land, because of the severe constraints on development, was a major factor in attracting the travellers to Basildon District. It had also been argued that the reason for the large increase in numbers was that the travellers wanted to be near families and friends. Lord Justice Pill said the council had taken into account the lack of sites in the area. 'On the other hand, it does not follow from a claimant's wish to live on a site in Basildon District that he is entitled to have one there,' said the appeal judge. |
| Posted by:Thing From Snowy Mountain |
| #7 Big on the inbreeding are they? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-01-23 20:38 |
| #6 :) Teefs over-rated. Keep on keepin on. Also remember some wheels left-threaded. |
| Posted by: .5MT 2009-01-23 20:24 |
| #5 Travelers, or Knackers, like these chaps? |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2009-01-23 18:33 |
| #4 You show me how to control a wild fu@ing gypsy and I'll show you how to control an unhinged, pig-feeding gangster. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2009-01-23 15:41 |
| #3 They are, according to their more respectable neighbors, a bunch of thievish, con-artist, semi-literate, dirty, no-good lazy chav squatters. They're also apparently the only demographic of native Britons who are reproducing at above replacement level. I'm wondering lately who's going to save us from all the respectable people. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-01-23 14:29 |
| #2 Travelers - Irish origin Gypsies - Indian origin. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-01-23 12:33 |
| #1 Travelers = gypsies, yes? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-01-23 12:21 |