Dale Farm: Last minute talks under way at traveller site

Fergal Keane: "We've seen people chaining themselves to a car"


Last minute negotiations between Basildon Council and residents at the Dale Farm travellers' site in Essex are under way delaying the eviction.

The council hopes to persuade residents to leave peacefully before action to clear the site begins.

As many as 400 people have been living on the 51 unauthorised caravan plots - but officials said 12 families had already left the site at Crays Hill.

Those remaining have built reinforcements at the six-acre site.

Council leader Tony Ball said: "Negotiations are taking place and that's why the bailiffs have not gone in.

"We are talking to families in the hope that one or two will leave peacefully before we have to enter the site.

"When that time comes, six to 10 men will go to the site entrance and ask to go through to individual caravans where they will knock on the door and ask what assistance they need to leave.

"If they do not allow us in then we will begin action.

"Once it starts it will move swiftly and the site will be cleared."

Supporters inside the site said they wanted Basildon Council to provide 62 plots to temporarily house those made homeless while planning permission is sought for other sites.

Travellers' appeal to bailiffs: "If force is used then limbs will be broken, or worse"

They said the council had asked for a small legal wall blocking the bailiffs' way to be removed.

Mary Sheridan, a representative of the residents, has applied for a personal injunction in another bid to stop the evictions and this was due to be heard by the Court of Appeal at 11:30 BST.

Basildon Council and Essex Police have called a press conference at 12:00 noon.

Some observers are saying that there are only about 120 people on the illegal site and that many of its residents had already moved to the legal area which is not subject to the eviction order.

The BBC's Fergal Keane, who is inside the site, said some protesters had chained themselves to a car which was positioned just behind the barricaded gate.

"This is a bid to delay the evictions. They are not trying to stop them," he said.

"People know they are going to go ahead but they are trying to make it as difficult as possible.

"There has been a delay and no-one knows what is going to happen so it is a very apprehensive situation."

A last-minute meeting between residents and the council was cancelled on Sunday after representatives were apparently told by protesters they were no longer welcome.
'Nowhere to go'

Dale Farm is a former scrapyard that was bought by several traveller families who moved on to the site a decade ago.

Within a year other families had bought patches of land and moved their caravans there but it has been the council's case that this part of the site is greenbelt land.

These moves were brought to the attention of local council planners who applied for the people to be moved and this sparked a long legal battle at the same time as more travellers arrived to make their homes on the site.
Continue reading the main story
At the scene
Helen Place BBC News

As a police helicopter hovers closely above the site there's a sense of tense anticipation as the bailiffs wait to go in and the travellers remain poised to resist.

They've told me it will be peaceful, but they intend to make a noise and have no intention of leaving.

I can see the travellers and their supporters on the scaffolding surrounding the entrance to the site, with banners stating their position. Some are chained to a car and two have cemented their arms into an oil drum.

It's calm, but with hundreds of security guards at the site and the constant whir of the helicopter above, it makes for a fraught atmosphere.

Travellers upgraded their homes by replacing caravans with chalets and other semi-permanent structures.

The legal battle exhausted all avenues of appeal for the residents and Basildon Council was given authority to begin evictions earlier this year.

Resident Kathleen McCarthy, a spokesman for the community who has lived on the site for 10 years, said: "We are living on a hope that they will realise we are not animals - we are humans."

It was no longer about greenbelt land but hatred and prejudice, she said.

Ms McCarthy has insisted that the remaining adults would lock themselves to their properties for "as long as it takes".

She appealed to Prime Minister David Cameron to stop bailiffs from making them homeless.

"I don't want my children to be in danger, so we're moving them.

"But we've got nowhere to go after Monday. We don't know what's going to happen to us," she said.

Essex Police warned residents to expect a "significant increase" in police vehicles during the eviction, which is expected to last up to six weeks.

The police have set up a temporary base at Barleylands in Billericay.
Dale Farm aerial photo Part of the Dale Farm site is at the centre of the dispute

Do you live at the Dale Farm travellers' site? Are you protesting on the residents' behalf? Are you against the site's occupation? Are you a bailiff evicting people from the land? Send us your comments and experiences.

We had about 8 trailer loads of bogtrotting "Travellers" set up camp on our land we had just acquired. After a few weeks of asking them politely to move on, with the help of the Borough Council, we blocked their access and lined up 6- 14wheeler tipper trucks loaded with topsoil. They were given the ultimatum to move out by mid day or be blocked in, unable to move their trailers and Transits, and unable to continue their business of scavenging scrap and making a fucking mess. They moved out. The soil had been earmarked for landscaping beyond our land anyway, so, the bluff wos a success for both us and the Council. In France we have a purpose built site for the Roma outside our local town with full facilities. It is spotless with a fixed number of places. Any problems, and there are only a few, they are removed with no mollycoddling. The CRS are always pleased to steam in, if necessary. My friend employs them for seasonal work on his farm. I've been with him when he's gone there to recruit and they are OK. Mainly ex circus with the occasional midget amongst them.

pippin wrote:

We had about 8 trailer loads of bogtrotting "Travellers" set up camp on our land we had just acquired. After a few weeks of asking them politely to move on, with the help of the Borough Council, we blocked their access and lined up 6- 14wheeler tipper trucks loaded with topsoil. They were given the ultimatum to move out by mid day or be blocked in, unable to move their trailers and Transits, and unable to continue their business of scavenging scrap and making a fucking mess. They moved out. The soil had been earmarked for landscaping beyond our land anyway, so, the bluff wos a success for both us and the Council. In France we have a purpose built site for the Roma outside our local town with full facilities. It is spotless with a fixed number of places. Any problems, and there are only a few, they are removed with no mollycoddling. The CRS are always pleased to steam in, if necessary. My friend employs them for seasonal work on his farm. I've been with him when he's gone there to recruit and they are OK. Mainly ex circus with the occasional midget amongst them.

sorry but it is people like your 'friend' that encourage the dirty fuckers

Resident Kathleen McCarthy, a spokesman for the community who has lived on the site for 10 years, said: "We are living on a hope that they will realise we are not animals - we are humans."

No, you are fucking gypsies, the niggers of europe.

A dozen or so well placed molotovs would take care of the problem nicely.

You guys in the UK are way too easy on these rats. I'd like to see them try this shit in the US.

We had our fill of "travelers" (gypsies) 70+ years ago. Their asses would go to jail, and their vehicles confiscated to offset the cost of repairing any damage they caused.

We do have public and private campgrounds but they're not free. Most provide water, electricity, and some also offer cable TV and internet hookups. Of course a credit card or cash is required upfront. Anyone without the means to pay would be refused service and sent on their way. "Travelers" and squatters would be arrested by the state or local police.

Tear gas and riot police should clear the area.

canada put visa requirements on romanians and mex icans years ago...you can learn from us....