Dale Farm


Dale Farm is the home of some one thousand Travellers, recognized as an ethnic group under UK law. Roma (English Gypsies) began establishing homes in the UK in the l960s and were joined by Travellers in the 1990s, especially after the l994 Criminal Justice Act increased the powers of police under "S62" to “move on”.

Those who, having nowhere else to legally place their caravans, attempted to camp on roadsides and car parks. At the same time, the new Act removed the duty on local councils to provide municipal caravan parks for Gypsies and advised the Roma and Travellers to buy their own land. Many families have done so only to be refused planning permission to live on their own properties. Hundreds have since been evicted, often with great brutality, caravans and chalets being bulldozed and burned, property set on fire.

During this period, land was purchased at Dale Farm, formally a former scrap metal yard. This land has been subdivided into 52 plots or yards which are presently occupied by about 90 families. Planning permission has been refused. In May 2005 Basildon Council decided to take direct action and set aside nearly five million Euro to clear one thousand Travellers from the district. Already 25 “illegally camped” families have been forced to leave and some dozen families on plots at Hovefields Avenue, Wickford, have seen their properties bulldozed. Basildon wishes to bulldoze Dale Farm but have been prevented by a High Court ruling. This ruling has been appealed by the council and a decision by the Court of Appeal is expected shortly.

The decision to “clear” so-called illegal Travellers from the district has been condemned by the Labour party as a racially tainted policy. The Liberal Party is against force being used to evict families from Dale Farm. Many believe that their policy is a form of ethnic-cleansing. The eviction operation is likely to meet with resistance as families are forced out on the road with nowhere to go face further police harassment under S62. There is also the danger of vigilante attacks, instigated by the British National Party which is very active in the area. At present more than 80 Dale Farm children attend the Crays Hill Primary School. This will close if the eviction takes place. Another 50 children of secondary school age benefit from activities at the Saint Christopher Centre, built at Dale Farm with funding from Essex County Council. The young people have formed the Dale Farm Chaveys Youth Club and plans are in hand by Prof Stephen Heppel of Anglia Rauskin University to set up a programme of education for the older children and adults. Basildon have already attempted to remove the Centre and would demolish it if the Appeal Court allows the eviction to go ahead. The community includes many infants, among them newly born triplets. Also a number of severely sick, elderly persons. These individuals will be unable to receive proper medical care if Dale Farm is closed.

Dale Farm Housing Association and the Gypsy Council (which has been fighting evictions since l966) have asked senior police officers and the council to permit the evacuation of infants and sick persons before any eviction attempt is allowed to go ahead. They would be cared for in nearby church halls during the first day of what is expected to be a violent confrontation. The DFHA and GC want to ensure that health and safety regulations are fully adhered to in this operation. But it has not been possible to reach agreement on the erection of safety fencing (as required by EU law) or a part-evacuation before heavy machinery moves in. A team of Monitors has been formed, which will be led by Joseph Jones (secretary of the Gypsy Council), an expert to the UN Advisory Group on Forced Evictions. Those who have expressed a willingness to act as Human Rights Monitors include Lord Avebury and Nick Harvey MP, as well as members of the clergy.

Essex Fire and Rescue have tried to broker such an agreement. On three occasions Council officials and more recently the police have turned down opportunities to discuss these matters. Meanwhile, a 26-page dossier on the past conduct of Constant & Co, the bailiff company contracted by Basildon, has been submitted to Justice Minister Jack Straw. This illustrates how bailiffs who lack certification to work with minors have manhandled and even assaulted children during past evictions. The UK Children's Commissioner has asked Basildon Council how it will ensure the safety of of children during the eviction and what alternative accommodation is being provided. There has been no clear response by the Council. Basildon has been told that, following an assessment of needs, it has a duty to provide 71 additional plots or yards. This would just about meet the requirements of Dale Farm families, who only wish to be left where they are in their own homes. However, Basildon Council leader Malcolm Buckley insists they cannot stay here as this is zoned as greenbelt and that there is no other place in the district to which they could move. This despite a recommendation by former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott that land be utilized for that purpose at Pitsea. The Gypsy Council has also said that land owned by Travellers in Basildon, and presently used for grazing horses, could be used if planning permission was granted.









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