Travellers plead with council to let them stay - Essex

From the East London and Essex Guardian

Travellers facing eviction from land they own have pleaded with Epping Forest District Council to let them stay.

Families living at the Birch Field site in Epping Lane, Theydon Garnon, have been ordered to move off the land by November 27 or face arrest.

They were found to be in breach of a court order prohibiting use of the land as a Travellers site put in place in 2006 when the group was last there.

All adults on the site were handed suspended sentences, ranging from four to six months, for contempt of court after being found guilty of breaching the order.

Father Patrick Gamble, who lives on the site, said: “We are pleading with the council and asking for their help. We have nowhere else to go.

“We’re willing to move wherever they want us to go but they say they haven’t got anywhere for us to go.

“We own this land and it’s always been hard-standing ground and the gas board has said the site is safe.”

“A few caravans have already left because they’re terrified their kids will be taken off them.
“Some of the kids who have gone were in the local school too.”

The council has deemed the land unsuitable for a Traveller settlement as it lies within the green belt. 

Following the recent High Court ruling, district council leader Chris Whitbread said: “I want to thank His Honour Judge Seymour for upholding the injunction and sending a clear message that the laws which protect our Green Belt and countryside apply to us all.

“I hope the Travellers who remain unlawfully on site will understand the implications of the decision and co-operate now to clear the site with the minimum damage or delay.”