Former Dale Farm Travellers appeal latest orders to leave - Essex

From the Basildon Recorder

BASILDON Council’s bid to move former Dale Farm families from a nearby lane has suffered a set back.

Travellers in around 20 caravans illegally parked in Oak Lane, next to the legal site, at Crays Hill, have appealed enforcement notices served last month.

It means the compliance date of September 29 cannot be enforced until after an inquiry chaired by a planning inspector, which may not be heard for a number of months.

Campaigner Stuart Hardwick Carruthers has lodged the appeal, saying there is not enough time for them to move off because there is currently nowhere for any of the families to go.

Council leader Tony Ball said he was not surprised and was frustrated, but they were entitled to appeal.

He added the inquiry would be interesting because full details of who is living there would have to be released.

Mr Ball suspects a number of the people in the lane were never occupants of Dale Farm, and are in fact new arrivals.

Mr Carruthers maintains they were all from the former illegal site.