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Green belt no better in hands of council
10:00am Tuesday 1st April 2008
Comments (16)A HUMAN rights campaigner has poured scorn on the state local councils leave green belt land in after travellers are evicted from unauthorised sites.
James Dasinger, 35, a graduate student of political science at California State University, Northridge, who has been living at the Dale Farm unauthorised traveller site, in Crays Hill, since February, has visited three camps which have faced evictions.
These include Hovefields, at Wickford, a small former site by the A130 near Rettendon, and the Smithy Fen camp, at Cottenham, Cambridgeshire.
He photographed the remains of illegally-built plots at all three sites, where evictions have taken place, which are now covered in unsightly mounds of rubble.
His pictures also showed rubbish and rubble-filled stagnant pools of water, which formed at Hovefields since the evictions took place.
He suggested this demonstrated local councils were no better at looking after green belt than travellers.
The volunteer for the Washington-based Advocacy Project, said on his internet blog on the human rights group's website: "One of the reasons sited by local authorities to evict travellers is to protect the integrity of greenbelt.
"I decided to try to find out what happens to greenbelt after travellers are removed. Are local councils better stewards of greenbelt than travellers?"
He said his pictures represented what Basildon taxpayers get for the millions of pounds spent on evictions.
He said: "Is greenbelt protected better by shifting people from site to site in an endless cycle of cost and destruction? Or is the better way to do as the East of England Regional Assembly has mandated and start designating appropriate sites?
"Judge for yourself if you think the results are worth it."
There are still around 15 unauthorised and occupied traveller plots at Hovefields, which surround the seven derelict ones where residents have been evicted. The pictures can be seen on Mr Dasinger's blog page, on www.advocacynet.org.
Your Say YourEcho
grrrrrr!, basildon says...
6:23pm Tue 1 Apr 08
Here's a few facts for him to consider:-
They buy greenbelt land (it's cheap BECAUSE it's not supposed to be developed) with the express purpose of setting up home, which is against the law; They mostly don't tax their vehicles or pay any sort of tax - against the law; IF they send their children to school, they are poor attenders(over and above the days they are legally allowed for "travelling"), constantly arrive late (quite often in taxis or 4 x 4's,'cos they can afford it), boys quit school at approx. 14 to work with their fathers after only attending on a much reduced curriculum - against the law. When those that do "travel" set up camp illegally, they leave the sites in an apalling state - against the law - for the taxpayer to pick up the tab for cleaning it up. The rest of us would be prosecuted for any of the above,but travellers and gypsies seem to be so blatantly above the law. No other sector of the public, ethnic minority or otherwise, would get away with half of what they do.
Local Boy, Hawkwell says...
6:32pm Tue 1 Apr 08
Perhaps his status as an American living in this country should be looked at?
This is one visitor I'm all for chucking out!
And as to Kim Gandy's comments re people not signing their names, it is a free country it is our democratic choice not to sign our own names if we don't want to, okay?
Steve, says...
7:19pm Tue 1 Apr 08
Kim Gandy wrote:
Why should we pay AGAIN? If official sites are to be created, they should clean up their own mess when they leave - or be fined like the rest of us. Unofficial sites even more so. Nobody asked them to turn up unannounced and leave the same way. That's like having squatters in your house, who then leave a mess when they go. But of course, they don't actually leave. That's the whole point of being travellers - or not. And what in God's name does any of this have to do with James Dasinger - another interfering do-gooder, again from miles away? Someone who has not endured the last six years until this point. Or indeed what does it have to do with anybody who is not - or has not been - affected by this whole fiasco? A graduate student of political science? Does that not involve getting both sides of a story? I am not coming back to read the inevitable twitterings of the left, especially not since none of them have the guts to sign themselves with a real name. Their uninformed comments are without credibility as it is and rendered totally pointless without we know who is doing the commentating.
I am not coming back to read the inevitable twitterings of the left
Y A W N
pete, laindon says...
7:49pm Tue 1 Apr 08
Vernon, Basildon says...
8:27pm Tue 1 Apr 08
TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990 (SECTIONS 78 & 174)APPEALS BY K McCANN; MILES CONNORS; HILDA BOSWELL; JAMES SWEENEY; MARTIN SWEENEY; MRS SYLVIA TAYLOR; AND MRS A HAMILTON LAND AT HOVEFIELDS DRIVE, WICKFORD, ESSEXAPPLICATION REFERENCE: 05/00527/FULLENFORCE
MENT NOTICE REF: L/2004/0502 1. I am directed by the First Secretary of State to say that consideration has been given to the report of the Inspector, Felix Bourne BA(Hons), LARTPI Solicitor, who held a public inquiry between the 4 October and 12 October 2005 into: Your clients' appeals: APP/V1505/C/04/20001
91 made by K McCann;APP/V1505/C/0
4/2000192 made by Miles Connors; APP/V1505/C/04/20001
93 made by Hilda Boswell; APP/V1505/C/04/20001
94 made by James Sweeney; andAPP/V1505/C/04/20
00196 made by Martin Sweeney under section 174 of the Town and County Planning Act 1990 (the Act) against enforcement notices issued by Basildon District Council (the Council), dated 26 November 2004. The requirements of the notices are to (i) cease using the land for residential purposes; (ii) remove from the land all caravans and other portable structures used in connection with the residential use of the site; (iii) demolish the fencing and remove all resultant debris from the land; (iv) break up the hardstandings and remove all resultant debris from the land; and (v) return the land to its former condition by re-cultivating, levelling and reseeding with grass seed at land: fronting Hovefields Avenue at the junction with Hovefields Drive, Wickford, Essex; fronting the north side of Hovefields Drive, Wickford, Essex, known as Hoves End; fronting Hovefields Avenue and HovefieldsDrive, Wickford, Essex, known as Haycroft; fronting the north side of Hovefields
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Page 2
Drive, Wickford, Essex, known as Upton Place; and fronting the north side of Hovefields Drive, Wickford, Essex, known as "Homeleigh". The appeals are proceeding on the grounds set out in section 174(2) (a) & (g) of the Act.
Hovefields Resident, Wickford says...
9:28pm Tue 1 Apr 08
But as usual another blinkered do good-er who believes they know everything!
Steve, says...
12:02am Wed 2 Apr 08
I've been reading up on them and their way of life.
midnight warrier, wickford says...
12:03am Wed 2 Apr 08
The Truth Seeker, Seeking Truth Everywhere says...
3:11am Wed 2 Apr 08
It has to be a joke?
deja vu, says...
8:10am Wed 2 Apr 08
I am not coming back to read the inevitable twitterings of the left
Haven't I read that somewhere before?
Andrew, Shoeburyness says...
4:55pm Wed 2 Apr 08
Let the people who made the mess have their vehicles and caravans confiscated and sold to pay for the cleanup of THEIR mess.
Derek Mace, Wickford says...
9:00pm Wed 2 Apr 08
James, Dale Farm says...
3:49am Thu 3 Apr 08
rg/blogs/index.php?b
log=105
If you take a look at the link above there are pictures of the A130 site. It was a small site which had no Travellers living near it after the eviction. Those photos are representative of what a site looks like that doesn't have any residents nearby to add to the rubbish.
The overall point is that the council's contention that the evictions are motivated by concern for greenbelt is false. Dale Farm wasn't green before the Travellers moved in (photos in previous blog) and the council has never allocated any money for restoration or exercised any stewardship of greenbelt at other sites after evicitons are carried out.
Andrew, Shoeburyness says...
8:34am Thu 3 Apr 08
Why should they you moron? It was not the taxpayer who made the mess, it was your freeloading friends.
As I said previously, confiscate their vehicles and caravans and sell them so the culprits pay for the cleanup.
Andrew, Shoeburyness says...
12:45pm Thu 3 Apr 08
It said:
James,
Has it not occurred to your miniscule mind that the people who made the mess should pay to clean it up, rather than the innocent taxpayer?
Eyesore the rubbish left uncleared at Hovefields travellers site
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Kim Gandy, Rayleigh says...
5:38pm Tue 1 Apr 08
That's like having squatters in your house, who then leave a mess when they go.
But of course, they don't actually leave. That's the whole point of being travellers - or not.
And what in God's name does any of this have to do with James Dasinger - another interfering do-gooder, again from miles away? Someone who has not endured the last six years until this point.
Or indeed what does it have to do with anybody who is not - or has not been - affected by this whole fiasco?
A graduate student of political science? Does that not involve getting both sides of a story?
I am not coming back to read the inevitable twitterings of the left, especially not since none of them have the guts to sign themselves with a real name.
Their uninformed comments are without credibility as it is and rendered totally pointless without we know who is doing the commentating.