BASILDON Council is contesting a High Court judicial review against its refusal to dispatch a planning application for a travellers site.

The planning application sought to retrospectively allow six caravan pitches on land west of Hovefields Avenue.

In accordance with planning law, the council as local planning authority declined to determine the application - because planning enforcement notices had already been served to remove the unauthorised development on green belt land.

The law was changed in 2011 allowing local planning authorities this discretion to prevent retrospective planning applications from being used to delay enforcement action.

The council has submitted a response to the court confirming that it intends to contest the claim.

The next step is that the court will consider whether or not the applicant has an arguable case in order that permission ought to be given for the case to be heard.

The council is now waiting to hear the court’s decision.

Basildon Council is currently engaged in planning enforcement activity regarding several alleged breaches of planning regulations in the Hovefields Avenue and Drive area of Basildon.

These relate to approved traveller sites allegedly being illegally expanded.

There are fears that this could be the start of “Dale Farm Mark II” after the huge illegal development of the Dale Farm travellers site.

It cost Basildon Council £10million to clear the site in 2011 after a drawn out legal battle to remove the travellers.

To read more about the ongoing planning enforcement at Hovefields and to keep up to date with information, visit basildon.gov.uk/hovefields