Site deliberately being left bare to stop it being reoccupied - Dale Farm

DALE Farm will remain as it is until the threat of reoccupation by Travellers has gone, the leader of Basildon Borough Council has said.

Councillor Tony Ball told the Gazette he was "satisfied" with the clearance of Dale Farm and that its return to something befitting green belt land depends on the Travellers.

"It doesn't look aesthetically great at the moment but that's only a temporary measure to keep it secure while it's under the threat of reoccupation," he said.

"How long it stays like that is a matter for the Travellers. When we are satisfied the threat of reoccupation has gone we will start to return it to what people recognise as a green belt area."

Mr Ball said the council will look to resolve the issue of water in the craters at Dale Farm in "the near future" adding that "as a parent I would not let my child play somewhere where it is dangerous".

The council leader said the new Localism Bill will help the authority enforce planning law on the legal Traveller site in Oak Lane.

The bill, passed in November, has removed the possibility of people applying for retrospective planning permission, which hindered enforcement action at Dale Farm ten years ago.

Mr Ball has also warned the owners of the legal plots that they could be served with court injunctions if they do not comply with planning regulations.

Injunctions would result in fines for the landowner for every day they are in breach of planning regulation.

The cost of October's eviction has been the subject of speculation and Mr Ball refused to be drawn on how much it has cost the taxpayer.

However, he expects it to have cost less than the £8million the council was going to put towards the eviction – the total budget for which was £18million – with a full breakdown of the costs to be published by the authority "shortly".