Dale Farm Travellers Apply For New Site As Basildon Council Announces Protesters 'Will Not Face Further Action'

Dale Farm Travellers Apply For Council Funding For New Site

The majority of protesters arrested at Dale Farm travellers site last October will not face further action by the council.

As evicted Irish Traveller families applied to Basilidon Council for new caravan pitches, it was announced that prosecution of 14 protesters will be dropped.

The multi-million pound clearance of Dale Farm last October followed a decade-long row over unauthorised plots on the six-acre site.

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Protesters claimed that travellers were not on the site illegally, however eventually they were removed by bailiffs

There were violent clashes as scores of protesters joined travellers to resist the clearance. Basildon Council successfully prosecuted two people for obstructing a bailiff and issued cautions to 10 others.

About 80 homeless Travellers still remain camped outside the evicted Dale Farm site, with no running water, no electricity and no sanitation.

The Travellers which remain outside the site have been served eviction notices by Basildon Council but are applying for public funding to create a site with better facilities.

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The travellers said the nearby evicted Dale Farm site is meanwhile being investigated by the Environment Agency after concerns were raised that the tearing up of hard-standing and the demolition of buildings after the eviction, has exposed potentially dangerous pollutants, including asbestos

Working with charity, ‘Fair Play for Children’ and the Irish Traveller Movement in Britain, the site will include a public children’s play area, a community building, a site manager’s office, and green areas.

If approved it will be the first time the Irish Traveller Movement has applied for any funding from the Homes and

Communities Agencies £60m fund for new and improved Traveller sites which was established by the government in 2011.

Tony Ball, leader of Basildon Council, said the decision not to prosecute was motivated by public interest.

He added: "This has been a finely balanced decision. I understand and respect the judge's comments about the time that has elapsed, the fact the site is cleared and any fines imposed would be low.

"I am concerned about the message this would send to the protesters, who caused the council to incur considerable extra expense, and to our residents who have had to pick up the bill.

"However, there are a number of other factors to consider, including the time and cost for the police and the council and the court time that this is taking up."