- Mobile site
- E-Newsletters
-
- News feed
- Find us on Twitter
@Essex_Echo
Follow us
- Find us on Facebook
Echo
Like us on Facebook
Crunch vote due on Dale Farm evictions (From Echo)
Get involved: send your pictures, video, news and views by texting ECHONEWS to 80360, or email us »
Crunch vote due on Dale Farm evictions
4:00pm Thursday 10th February 2011 in Basildon By Jon Austin
COUNCILLORS will decide next month whether to spend as much as £3million evict ing hundreds of travellers from their Crays Hill campsite.
Basildon Council is planning to hold a special full council meeting on March 14 to allow members to discuss plans to clear the Dale Farm camp.
If councillors decide to go ahead, notices will then be served on the travellers.
However, the eviction itself is likely to be delayed until after the royal wedding on April 29 because many Essex Police officers will be tied up guarding the festivities.
Council leader Tony Ball said councillors should know before the meeting whether Government cash will be available to help foot the eviction.
It should also be clear if Essex Police has succeeded in securing as much as £10million from the Home Office to cover the cost of involvement.
Mr Ball, who has previously promised to resign if the eviction fails to go ahead this spring, promised: “We will continue, whether we get the funding or not.”
He said next month’s meeting would set a provisional timetable for the eviction, though it remains unclear if the actual date will be announced in advance.
After a debate, councillors will then be asked to vote on serving notices, which would then give the 96 families on the site 28 days to move and avoid forced eviction.
The vote will come just two weeks after a meeting in Westminster between the council, Basildon and Billericay MP John Baron and traveller representatives.
The meeting is due to review progress towards finding sites outside Basildon borough to which the travellers can move to avoid eviction.
Grattan Puxon, a campaigner for the travellers, said a search was still on. An application was also being prepared for a small site in Basildon. He would like the actual date of the eviction announced in advance. He claimed hundreds of people had signed an anti-eviction petition and many would form a human shield to block the way for bailiffs and police.
Comments are closed on this article.
Comments (16)
4:08pm Thu 10 Feb 11
Shirley Knott says...
4:14pm Thu 10 Feb 11
Nebs says...
4:18pm Thu 10 Feb 11
Shirley Knott says...
the SPG or whatever they're called could come over and get some practice cracking heads for the next time there's a demo in London, nice day out for them. Peterloo all over again
4:37pm Thu 10 Feb 11
Dids says...
4:44pm Thu 10 Feb 11
jolllyboy says...
5:43pm Thu 10 Feb 11
el caballero de la noche says...
The fact is the Councillors that failed in their statutory duty to get rid of them within days, like all other councils have should be made bankrupt for failing to act.
IF they fail this time Basildon will have travellers from all over Europe settling there.
5:56pm Thu 10 Feb 11
thelonewhinger says...
Firstly - What's all this "IF we decide to go ahead?" Surely the whole point of years of Court action was to achieve the very thing that nobody seems to have the guts to do...Get em out!
Secondly - I am disappointed but not suprised that the various Gypsy Wedding episodes shown on TV have not attracted more attention from the police or HM Customs & Revenue or even the race relations people.
I suggest that anyone who even remotely cares that these scum are openly flouting laws which all other sections of society must abide-by take a few minutes to write to their MP and demand to know why no action is being taken against those appearing in the documentary. Rather than attract sympathy to their cause the scenes we have witnessed may rebound on them!
Genuine settled English Gypsies should hang their heads in shame if they continue to support these Irish mafia.
7:04pm Thu 10 Feb 11
god 2011 says...
7:10pm Thu 10 Feb 11
midnight warrior says...
Can't wait to watch the eviction on TV and see justice done for everyone in the area.
7:12pm Thu 10 Feb 11
mindboggles says...
9:14pm Thu 10 Feb 11
InTheKnowOk says...
Also now we know exactly how much money they have to spend on cars, trailers, wedding dresses, venues, helicopters and such like, it shows the sort of income they must be making so there is no excuse for them not to buy or rent a place like the rest of us and pay all the necessary bills that go with it.
12:33pm Fri 11 Feb 11
gardenman says...
12:48pm Fri 11 Feb 11
geezer, innit says...
4:22pm Fri 11 Feb 11
RobertFS says...
has anyone a good word for them? NO
4:37pm Fri 11 Feb 11
John T Pharro says...
7:15pm Tue 8 Mar 11
melady says...