Travellers facing eviction from the UK's largest illegal site are meeting council officials.
Dale Farm representatives have met a delegation from Basildon Council at the Essex Police compound at Barleylands, near the site.
The talks were seen as a last attempt to resolve the planning dispute peacefully after travellers lost a High Court bid to stay on the six-acre site.
Basildon Council has warned that the site clearance could start at any time. A council spokesman confirmed the authority was meeting representatives of the travellers and supporters.
He said: "The purpose is to discuss a safe, dignified and humane site clearance. This is what Justice Edwards-Stuart indicated should happen, and the council has always said we would carry out the operation in this way.
"No parts of these talks are a negotiation about whether the clearance will happen or be delayed - that decision was finally made at the Court of Appeal yesterday when Mr Justice Sullivan completely backed up the judgment of Mr Justice Ouseley and refused permission to appeal the decision of the High Court."
Returning to the site at 12.15pm, campaigner Gratton Puxon said the travellers' delegation walked out of the meeting as it became clear the council would not negotiate.
He said: "We raised health concerns about a number of residents, including one who needed medical attention last night. We also tried to discuss how elderly travellers will be able to access legal homes, which will stay, if roads and hard standings are destroyed.
"As things stand the council will not budge and can move in at any time and there is no hope of a resolution."
The multimillion-pound clearance operation follows a decade-long row over 54 unauthorised plots. Supporters are reinforcing barricades as they expect bailiffs to move in on Wednesday.
The council later issued the following statement:
Cllr Tony Ball, Leader of the Council said:
“The meeting broke up without any significant progress being made and with the majority leaving the meeting after just over ten minutes - this was very disappointing.
“Traveller comments since the meeting indicating that the council were not willing to negotiate only demonstrate that they were unrealistic in their expectations in the first place.
“This meeting was never going to be a negotiation about if or when it was about how. And this was made very clear when the meeting was arranged.
“We now believe that those who want to leave peacefully have already done so and those who are left have made it clear that they have no intention of cooperating with the council. Resistance and violence as some are now suggesting will be in nobody’s interest – especially not the travellers or their families.
“We now must get on with the difficult job of clearing Dale Farm in as safe and dignified a manner as possible – and that is what we will now do.”