Dale Farm Legal Observers – Training Coming Soon

We urgently need a team of legal observers to be ready to go out to Dale Farm when the next wave of evictions begin.  Basildon Council has been taking steps to move those parked on the road and pitched on legal yards and we expect a wave of actions shortly.

Don’t hold back if you haven’t done legal observing before; we will be running a training session, probably in London, in the next couple of weeks.  This workshop is also open to those who have trained in the past but would like a refresher.  Mail dalefarmbackoffice(at)riseup.net to offer your help and let us know if you have experience and if you would like to attend a training session.

TSN Welcomes Supporter’s Clearance and Warns Against ‘Campaign of Intimidation’ by Essex Police

The Traveller Solidarity Network (TSN) welcomes today’s news that a supporter of the families at Dale Farm who was present at the forced eviction has been cleared of any wrongdoing by Southend Magistrates’ Court.

The supporter had been arrrested and taken to court on the basis that she had concealed her identity. We fully support the defense’s lawyer Raj Chada’s accusation that Essex police officers have orchestrated a “campaign of intimidation” against those who stood up for the rights of Dale Farm families.

A member of the Traveller Solidarity Network, Paul Lethbridge, commented that ‘in the coming weeks this “campaign of intimidation” will intensify with many more court dates for supporters coming up based on trumped-up charges. All of the network stand together in saying that we are proud of what we have done and continue to do in standing up the rights of Travellers. The heavy-handed response of the government and the police will not prevent us from continuing our work.’

Support the Dale Farm Planning Appeal – Letter writing campaign Mary Flynn Appeal

Mary Flynn is an Irish Traveller from Dale Farm who is appealing the
refusal of planning permission for her plot. Mary’s appeal would be helped
by supporters and residents of Dale Farm sending letters supporting her
appeal. So TSN is calling for supporters to write letters.

In your letter you can set out your personal opinions about the need for
planning permission to be granted. There’s a number of planning issues
below which you could use to support your case, as well as an outline of
the special considerations that should be given to the case for human
rights and humanitarian reasons. Below is a bit of formal wording to help
you draft you letter.

=========

Information which should go in your letter

Plot 45, Dale Farm
APP/V1505/A/11/2163607 Dale Farm

The retention of a change in use of the land to a residential Gypsy /
Traveller caravan site including the retention of hard standings, fences,
and the siting of a portable structure on the land to be used as a
utility facility.

I wish to support the appeal of the Dale Farm Residents Association in
relation to the above.

I am < personal circumstances stuff… include full name and address >

I am a statutory party.. < if you were staying at Dale Farm between
August and September 2011 then you can claim this status (say why)
otherwise delete>

<your arguments on why the appeal should be allowed by the Secretary of
State>

I authorise Grattan Puxon, Secretary of Dale Farm Resident’s Association,
to represent my interests at the inquiry.

Yours faithfully,

<name>
<date>

===

send your letter by email to:

appeals@basildon.gov.uk, planning@basildon.gov.uk,
tony.ball@members.basildon.gov.uk, enquiries@pins.gsi.gov.uk
and bcc: ycx26@dial.pipex.com, dalefarmbackoffice@riseup.net (so that we
can track
responses.)

=====

Information about the appeal:

The planning application was submitted in August 2011, and was considered
by The Development Control and Traffic Management Committee on 18th
October 2011. A decision notice was issued on 19th October 2011 refusing
permission.

===

Reasons for refusal of planning permission:

Guidance in national planning policy PPG2 – allows for exception to be
made where it can be shown there are very special circumstances. The
council does not allow that the personal circumstances of the applicant
are sufficient to justify this. They refer to the previous decisions of
the Secretary of State.

In addition they refer to their own policy BAS BE12 which prohibits
development “materially harmful to the character of the surrounding area
which has a dominating appearance within the landscape and creates
traffic congestion impinging on highway safety” and concludes that this
application be refused because of harm to the visual amenity of the area
and openness of the greenbelt.

===

Arguments which could be used against these points:

1) That the decision of the Development Control and Traffic Management
Committee on about 18th October 2011 was not correctly informed:

a) they were not told that the Council had been found by the High Court
to have overenforced notices and had to pay costs because of this

b) they were not told that the Council intended to overenforce more
notices in the eviction the next day – some of which were issued without
authority

c) they were not told that the openness of the greenbelt would be
compromised by the Council’s bunding of the site after the eviction

d) the previous decision of the Secretary of State should not be taken
into account because this was not informed by the previous points

e) and that both the Development Control and Traffic Management Committee
and the Secretary of State were mislead by the council who said that there
had been many road traffic accidents in the area when in fact the police
have confirmed that from 01 June 2000 to date there has been only one
recorded accident. The amount of traffic likely to be generated by Mrs
Flynn and her family amounts at most to two or three vehicles.

2) That the Council used its own planning regulations inappropriately
and inconsistently

a) the Council wrongly stated that the reason for its decision was
preserving the openness of the greenbelt; this was a former scrapyard and
has not in the past 50 years been a greenfield site and the actions of
the council in constructing bunding after the eviction causes more loss
of visual amenity than the traveller site ever did.

b) the Council needed planning permission to construct these bunds on
greenbelt land but failed to apply for it

c) the Council has made exceptions to development on greenbelt land in the
area in other recent cases and should do so in this case. (Eg: On 29th
November 2011 the Development Control & Traffic Management Committee
granted conditional planning permission to 11/00433/Full for a Dog
Re-homing Centre with associated hardstanding and 2 staff houses to be
developed on 13 acres of Green Belt land in Wickford.)

3) That there are special circumstances which should be given more
weight in considering this appeal:

a) The material harm caused to Mrs. Flynn and her family by evicting them
on to the road would be disproportionate. Mrs. Flynn is a widow and does
not drive. Her grandchildren still suffer nightmares since the eviction
and she is in ill-health. She uses a nebuliser for breathing
difficulties. She needs care from her community which is supplied by
friends and family at dale farm. It is the duty of the council to
protect these vulnerable people. They are Basildon residents and many of
the children were born in the area.

b) There is a need for about 150 additional pitches in the area. The
Council has admitted that there is a need for more legal pitches in the
area but has failed to provide these. In addition, it had rejected
guidance by the Secretary of State, including a statement from Deputy
Prime Minister John Prescott that a site at Terminus Road, Pitsea, would
be suitable. This site was later the subject of a planning application by
the DFHA, rejected by the Council. Land in Laindon offered by the Homes
and Communities Agency (along with a budget for its development) was also
turned down by the Council. The Council have said that a Gypsy and
Traveller site Development Plan Document will be published by winter 2014
- this is far too late given the pressing need of many homeless families
of travellers in the area.

c) Those that have applied to the Council for help with homelessness have
been offered either nothing at all or brick and mortar accommodation.
This is against all current advice that this is an inappropriate offer
for Gypsy and Traveller families. (The concept of ‘cultural aversion to
conventional housing’ first appeared in a planning case, Clarke v
Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions in 2003
- Burton J concluded that, if a cultural aversion to conventional housing
was established, such an offer would be unsuitable ‘just as would be the
offer of a rat-infested barn’.)

d) Gypsies and Travellers are believed to experience the worst health and
education status of any disadvantaged group in England. The lack of sites
restricts access to many health, education and welfare services. This not
only affects their general well-being, but means that many Gypsies and
Travellers are not sufficiently integrated into settled communities,
helping to further reinforce stereotypical views that these groups
‘don’t fit in’. The life expectancy of a traveller is 12 years less than
a person from the settled community. Child mortality rates are almost
three times higher amongst the travelling community.

e) The Council has a duty to protect the human rights of travellers who
are a recognised ethnic minority. The rights of children (including Mrs.
Flynn’s grandchildren) should carry primary weight in any decision
according to the guidance of both the UN and The European Union.
(Article 24 of the European Union’s charter of Fundamental Rights: IN ALL
ACTIONS RELATING TO CHILDREN, WHETHER BY PUBLIC AUTHORITIES OR PRIVATE
INSTITUTIONS, THE CHILD’S BEST INTERESTS MUST BE A PRIMARY
CONSIDERATION)

Dale Farm supporters reject police cautions for obstruction

Today (20 December 2011) and yesterday, over thirty Dale Farm supporters who were arrested during the Dale Farm eviction rejected police cautions for obstruction of a bailiff under the Town and Country Planning Act. [1] They now face a court hearing in the new year

A number of the supporters issued a joint statement:

“We stand by our decision to attempt to prevent the brutal forced eviction that took place. It has left Dale Farm a wasteland, with 83 families homeless and living in inhumane conditions. The cynical use of greenbelt planning laws does not change the fact that this was a racially motivated eviction by Basildon Council. We believe that the eviction was unjust and therefore our actions were justified; we cannot accept ‘guilt’ for standing side by side with the Dale Farm community.” [2]

Mary O’Brian, a member of the Dale Farm community, said “Nobody has ever stood up in history for Travelling people. And Dale Farm comes along, and we had people, really good settled people, that stood up for us. I’ll never forget that, and my people will never forget that. We lost our homes, but it made history.”

Notes to the editor:

[1] Dale Farm was subject to a huge policing operation on 19 October 2011. Several Travellers and their supporters were injured and hospitalised due to police brutality.

[2] The Dale Farm community are now largely living on the private road leading to the evicted site, in crowded and unsanitary conditions. A forced clearance of the road by Basildon Council is feared in the new year. Basildon Council is not offering any culturally appropriate alternative housing, and therefore families will be forced to live in lay-bys and car parks.

–
Media enquiries: 07040900905, 07583761462
Twitter: @travellersol
http://travellersolidarity.org/
Please email tsn-media@noflag.org.uk to be added to our press list

Dale Farm & Traveller Solidarity Network Benefit Party!

This Saturday, December 10th, come to the Traveller Solidarity all-nighter warehouse party of bands, circus acts, DJs, comedy, spoken word and politics! The benefit will take place in South London (exact place to be found out via the party line 07530910145 which will be active from 6pm the day itself) from 8pm till 8am the following morning.  The entrance will cost you £7/Donation.

The Traveller Solidarity Network has evolved from the group supporting Dale Farm, and is uniting with Travellers to resist evictions around the country, using direct action and radical politcs. We don´t have 18 million pounds, and every now and then we have to buy things. Come and show your support for this historically ignored antifascist struggle.

Check out the Facebook event and our poster for more info.

Dale Farm Families return as planning inquiry opens

Undeterred by last month’s brutal clearance, many families are returning to Dale Farm for Christmas.

In response Tory council leader Tony Ball is threatening to have them committed to prison for contempt of court if they breach an injunction preventing re-occupation.

“They have nowhere to go,” says Patrick Egan, owner of Dale Farm House, who is presently giving refuge to 5 caravans on his property. “If forced off here they’ll have to move onto car parks. We’re not leaving Basildon.”

Next week, however, Travellers are meeting head on Ball’s challenge to seek planning permission before occupying another location. A public inquiry opens on Tuesday (22 Nov) into Dale Farm Housing Association’s bid to open a mobile-home park on nearby land for all those made homeless.

The land at Church Road, Laindon, was originally offered by the HCA, a government quango, to Basildon council to help it meet its duty to provide 62 new plots for homeless Travellers in ther district. It refused the offer.

Under the new plan, Basildon could be required to facilitate the release of funds by the HCA for the development. This envisages 12 permanent and 60 temporary plots, which would be made ready as soon as possible for those left without homes at Dale Farm since the eviction.

Meanwhile, costs arising out of the direct action operation continue to multipy. Residents are mounting numerous claims for injuries and damage to property, which may add further millions to the original 18m bill for the police-led assault and clearance, which now appears to have been entirely futile.

Residents are urging supporters to attend the Inquiry which opens at 10 am on Tuesday (22 Nov) at the Basildon Centre, St Martins Square, Basildon SS14 1DL

Council failures cause serious injuries at Dale Farm

Two of the remaining residents at Dale Farm have been seriously injured. One resident fell down a six-foot trench and became trapped for an hour before going to hospital. Another suffered a broken leg after a path gave way. The injuries come as complaints have continued to mount over the cutting of electricity, streetlights and other amenities to legal plots.

Residents and their supporters will be consulting their solicitors on Monday to assess possible breaches of UK legislation by Basildon Council and will report the incidents to the Health and Safety Executive.

Nora Flynn was walking on the pathway to get some diesel for the generator so she could wash her children’s clothes. The pathway gave way underneath her. Paramedics struggled to rescue her because the roads accessing the site have been dug up. She was admitted to hospital for neck and back injuries and continues to be in serious pain.

Michelle Sheridan, Nora’s sister, said”It’s like something you see on the TV news from a third world country. My children don’t eat and they don’t sleep. The bailiffs have ignored the courts. The council said they wouldn’t dig up the roads and they did. Basildon Council have left us in hell on earth.”

Patrick Egan, whose house has planning permission at the site, fell down a trench breaking his leg while checking the damage to his property which has cracked walls, no electricity and a broken septic tank. Mr Egan’s house has never been the subject of enforcement by the council yet is has still been badly damaged. Mr Egan said: “My work is in disarray. I now can’t work.”

Ali Stephens of the Travellers Support Network, said, “Basildon Council’s £18 million pound plan for the site does not appear to include any health and safety concerns for the remaining residents. Why are excavations not fenced off and lit at night? Why is there not a safe distance between ongoing work on the site and peoples’ homes and access to them? Is Basildon Council biased against travellers, or is it just plain negligence?”

He continued, “Life for the remaining residents of Dale Farm is bleak. Their formerly vibrant community has been turned into apocalyptic scenes of rubble, broken pipes, rubbish and stinking raw sewage. It’s shocking.” Both injured residents are available for interview.

Traveller Solidarity Meeting; 11am, Saturday 5th November in Whitechapel

The Traveller Solidarity Movement after Dale Farm: Where Next?

A meeting of debate and strategy.

11am Saturday 5^th November

3^rd Floor Cityside House, 40 Adler St, London E1 1EE.
Near Aldgate East and Whitechapel tube st. (District Line, Hammersmith & City)
Buses: 205 (from Paddington), 15, 25, 67, 115, 135, 205, 254, D3.

To attend you need to RSVP- email savedalefarm@gmail.com

To sign up to email list ; https://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/tsn

Fears Mount of Dale Farm like Eviction at St Paul’s

Fears Mount of Dale Farm like Eviction at St Paul’s

Councillor Brian Mooney today echoed Canon Giles Fraser’s concerns that police will attempt to clear Occupy London protesters at St Paul’s using the same violent tactics that were used against travellers and their supporters at Dale Farm.[1]

Riot Police waded into Dale Farm firing tasers, and used batons, shields and fists to take control of the site.

 

Resident Nora Egan was baton charged and was taken to hospital twice with spinal injuries. Bailiffs later smashed their way into her chalet while she was inside. Two supporters were hit with tasers, one in the back, and another was taken to hospital after brutal treatment from Police when they removed him from the scaffolding tower. Residents of Dale Farm were severely traumatised by the level of violence and intimidation they witnessed form the Police.

Ali Saunders of Dale Farm Solidarity said:

“The eviction at Dale Farm show that Canon Giles Fraser is right to fear police brutality against the Occupy London camp. Travellers are constantly in fear of violence from the State. As the economic crisis spirals out of government control, anyone whose actions or way of life challenges the way our capitalist society is organised can become a target for this kind of brutality.”

Dale Farm resident Kathleen McCarthy said:

“I went to St Paul’s and they were good people. I don’t want to see them go through the violence shown to us at Dale Farm. I pray they all stay safe.”

Dale Farm residents who have moved temporarily to friends plots on the legal side of Dale Farm are now being threatened with imminent eviction.

Ali Saunders of Dale Farm Solidarity added:

“They are desperate and have no where to go. Why else would they be there living there among the shattered wrecks of their homes, clinging onto what is left of their community and children’s future.”

 

 

Notes to the Editor

 

[1] Brian Mooney warned that the situation could turn into a “Dale Farm-like eviction” in the Guardian saying “There is now a serious danger it will go all the way through and end up with a Dale Farm-like eviction. It’s a long way down the line but… at some stage bailiffs are brought in and police are rigged up in gear and then there is an unpleasant eviction on the steps of St Paul’s and the heart of the City.” ”:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/28/st-pauls-lawyers-activist-camp

 

Canon Giles Fraser expressed similar concerns in resigning from the Cathedral on Thursday 27 October saying “I could not countenance the idea that we would have the sort of scenes we had at Dale Farm done in the name of the church on the steps of St Paul’s.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/27/giles-fraser-occupy-london-st-pauls?intcmp=239

Legal observers still urgently needed!

The eviction is still ongoing and we still need legal observers – they are the main support Dale Farm residents have right now. We expect the clearance operation to continue for two to three weeks and we are understaffed this weekend (29/30 October). Bailiffs are damaging property and remaining residents feel intimidated.

If you can help please fill out the extended doodle poll at http://doodle.com/8tcurvsevcx4zhmt

Before you go, ring 07928632302, or if that doesn’t work, 07583621312, to check the situation.

Finally, a reminder that as a legal observer you absolutely can’t participate in direct action, and you need to have been trained (though if you haven’t done it before hopefully there’ll be more experienced LOs to pair you up with!). Legal observers were under threat of being barred from site yesterday and we need to make sure we maintain our credibility

Things to bring:

• camera/video camera
• spare batteries
• notebook
• 2-3 pens
• torch and batteries
• Spare toothbrushes & toothpaste
• If possible, hard hat & Hi-Viz jacket