DEVELOPERS looking to buy up land on the Dale Farm traveller site would be taking a huge risk, Basildon Council’s leader has warned.

Travellers who still own plots on both the legal and illegal parts of the Crays Hill site are believed to have been approached by developers in recent months.

A Private Eye magazine story has suggested landowners have been asking £100,000 a pitch for land on the former campsite, which was the subject of controversial evictions in 2011.

Basildon Council is designating the legal portion of Dale Farm as an official traveller site in its draft Local Plan, but expects the rest of the site to be returned to farmland.

Council leader Phil Turner said: “Any potential buyer would have to look at contamination there, because we continually clean it up and there would be question marks about that.

“The council still intends to recover its costs for the money we have spent on Dale Farm. We can do that by taking the land back at full value, so there are lots of risks for any potential buyers.”

Mr Turner stressed the council did not want to see the land go for development, but conceded a Government planning inspector could overrule it when the Local Plan is examined in detail next year.

He said: “It is not our intention to develop that land. We don’t need it and it is not in the local plan for a good reason.

“However, a potential developer might challenge that and argue in favour of its own land to an inspector.

“As far as we are concerned, that land was green belt before and it should remain that way.”

The Dale Farm evictions came after a ten-year legal battle.

Afterwards the council pledged to return the land to its original state, although Mr Turner said there was no timescale for this.

He added: “Our dilemma is if we take ownership of the land, all the problems become ours, including contamination and maintenance.

“There is ongoing dumping down there, and there are significant risks in ownership, so we are keeping our powder dry.”

A council spokesman said: “Whilst the council can confirm that it has held meetings with numerous developers during the preparation of the draft Local Plan, it is not appropriate to confirm where these relate to while the plan is out to public consultation.”