NEW PLANNING laws aiming to bring an end to to drawn out legal battles over traveller sites such as Dale Farm soon come into force.
New legislation will make gipsy and traveller sites “inappropriate development” in the green belt.
The changes, from April 1, also mean if a council serves enforcement notices against an illegal site, travellers will not be able to challenge this by making retrospective planning applications.
They will also free councils from top-down traveller pitch targets, meaning Basildon Council will no longer have to create 62 new pitches, because they can instead determine their own levels.
The Irish Traveller Movement in Britain claims the changes will see less authorised sites built, making a new Dale Farm inevitable.
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