Court of Appeal to hear traveller accommodation case in December

The Court of Appeal will hear a case in December on whether former residents of the Dale Farm travellers site should be rehomed in caravans as opposed to conventional housing.

At a hearing on Friday Lord Justice Patten gave the claimants permission to appeal a county court ruling in favour of Basildon Council in 2010. The hearing also clarified the grounds of appeal, which will take place on 14 December.

According to the BBC, the residents’ barrister said the travellers had an aversion to living in bricks and mortar. They are expected to argue that they should be offered “culturally appropriate” accommodation.

A spokesman for Basildon said the authority would not comment until after the accommodation case had been heard.

The case is understood to be the last remaining piece of active litigation between the council and former residents, after legal battles across a range of fronts in recent weeks.

However, the council’s Leader, Cllr Tony Ball, has warned it would be seeking recovery of costs for the delay caused by the injunction earlier in the dispute and the overall costs of the clearance option.

He added that Basildon would also turn its attention “to any remaining breaches of planning regulations on the site and also any new breaches at the authorised Oak Lane site.”.

The council has confirmed that work to clear the site has been completed, and contractors and council officials had left.

Cllr Ball said: “We are committed to restoring Dale Farm to a site in keeping with its green belt status, and would remind people that the bunding in place is only a temporary measure.”

He urged travelling communities to engage with their local authorities across the country. “They must seek planning permission before any more development of sites take place and this is regardless to the fact that they may own the land,” Cllr Ball said.

“Travellers must comply with the law in the same way as everyone else. Nobody wants to see another Dale Farm.”