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17th October 2011
Posted by Gateway 97.8
| Final urge to travellers to leave peacefully as Court of Appeal bid fails |
17 October 2011
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| Following the failure of the appeal against last Wednesday’s High Court judgement, Basildon Council today issued a final request for residents of the illegal settlement at Dale Farm to leave peacefully and in an orderly fashion.The council also confirmed it would not be giving travellers any further notice of when the clearance operation would begin with the exception of three pitches as instructed by the court.
Speaking today, Cllr Tony Ball, Leader of the Council said: “Since last Wednesday evening the residents at Dale Farm have been living on borrowed time. I made it very clear following Mr Justice Ouseley’s judgment that they should now leave peacefully and in a safe and orderly fashion. “I also made it clear that the so called supporters should also pack up their belongings and leave the site. If they have the travellers best interest at heart they will either leave the area now or confine their activities to helping the travellers to leave over the coming days. “I am particularly concerned by reports that barricades have been strengthened over the weekend. This flies in the face of common sense and the request made by Justice Edwards-Stuart when he urged travellers to use their best endeavours to remove barricades and facilitate access to the site a number of weeks ago. “We will not be giving further notice of when a site clearance will now begin. We are required to give 48 hours notice to three plots and that we will do but the rest of the site will now be cleared at a time of our choosing. “There is no question that we will be giving a further 28 day notice as some have suggested over the weekend – this period has already been served. The recent court proceedings were merely a temporary suspension. “Our job is now to clear this site in a safe and dignified manner and this is what we intend to do.” |
