TRAVELLERS FACING eviction from a caravan site in Essex should be given alternative pitches elsewhere, British Labour Party leader Ed Miliband has said, as he accused Basildon Borough Council of acting insensitively.
“I don’t think that they have handled the situation very sensitively. Of course the law must be upheld, but it must be done in a way that is sensitive. Instead of grandstanding, the council should provide those alternative sites,” he said.
The Basildon local authority was not providing the numbers of pitches required by law, he added. “It must be possible for them to provide an alternative site for the Travellers so that actually you take the heat out of what has become a very big controversial issue that doesn’t do anyone any good.”
Mr Miliband’s declaration marks a significant change in his attitude to the controversy. Earlier this month he, along with British prime minister David Cameron, backed the £18 million (€20.7 million) eviction operation.
Rejecting the Labour leader’s criticism, Conservative chairman of Basildon council Tony Ball said: “This operation is about upholding the law and has nothing to do with ‘grandstanding’.
“I would like to remind Mr Miliband that this council has sought a peaceful and negotiated resolution for more than 10 years, and we provide more authorised pitches than any other authority in the east of England and one of the largest numbers in the country.”
Legal actions taken by the Travellers have cost the local authority £400,000 in legal bills and wages for bailiffs in just the last fortnight, the high court in London was told, as it heard applications for a judicial review of the efforts to oust the site residents.
Three cases for judicial review have been taken by Dale Farm residents, but they are being heard as one by Mr Justice Ouseley. A decision is not due until Tuesday. The Travellers have made clear they will appeal the judgment should it go against them.
A separate action challenging the validity of enforcement notices from Basildon Borough Council between 2002 and 2004 will be heard on Monday.
Marc Willers, representing resident Mary Sheridan, said the local authority had not carried out a gypsy and Travellers’ needs assessment. “If they had devised a strategy having assessed need, then all or some of the people on Dale Farm might have been found to have a need and a strategy would have been formed to meet their needs.”
His client, he added, was not arguing she should be left to stay at Dale Farm forever. “This claim is brought on this basis there is no alternative, suitable accommodation at this point in time, and it would be disproportionate to be forced to leave in the absence of such accommodation.”
