BRITAIN’S HIGH COURT has ruled that the proposed eviction of travellers from the Dale Farm halting site in Essex can go ahead.
The court this afternoon rejected complaints from the residents of the halting site, who had tried to stop the process on three grounds, including a claim that their eviction would have been illegal under the European Convention of Human Rights.
The Guardian said Justice Duncan Ouseley described it as “astonishing” that the residents had only lodged their High Court appeal on the day they were due to be evicted – despite nearly a decade of legal disputes between the residents and Basildon council.
“The conclusion has been reached time and again that this is just the wrong site for travellers,” the Daily Telegraph quotes Ouseley as saying.
The travellers had secured a High Court injunction blocking their eviction on September 19, but a court had granted permission earlier this month for the removal of residents from 49 of the 54 plots on the site.
The eviction of the 400-or-so residents had prompted worldwide condemnation, including opposition from a United Nations committee.
It remains unclear whether the Travellers will seek to appeal to the UK’s Supreme Court.
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