World

UK Police Set to Evict Irish ‘Travelers’ From Controversial Dale Farm

LONDON (The Blaze/AP) — The operation to evict Irish Travelers from their settlement east of London will go ahead, officials said Monday, as protesters built barricades and chained themselves to cars to stop police and bailiffs moving in.

Basildon council leader Tony Ball told reporters at the site that bailiffs would launch the operation to clear the site later in the day, in a “safe” manner despite the protests.

Residents at the Dale Farm settlement 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of London have built a tower of scaffolding poles and have parked cars and vans at the entrance to their site.

Some protesters chained themselves to barrels and cars and said police will have to forcibly move them.

Local authorities won a decade-long legal battle to move some 86 families who lived in mobile homes on the site without proper planning permission.

Sky News has a map of the area:

UK Police Ready to Evict Travelers from Dale Farm

Academy Award-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave has come to the community’s support, and the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination urged authorities to find a peaceful solution.

The local authority says it’s a simple planning issue – the 86 families lack permission to pitch homes on the land. The Travelers – a traditionally nomadic group similar to, but ethnically distinct from, Gypsy or Roma people – call it ethnic cleansing.

The main barricade at the site bore paintings of children and a banner crying “Human Rights for Dale Farm.”

One sign warned of drastic consequences if a gate were to be opened, reading “danger of death” for a protester who had chained herself to a barrel.

“Behind this gate a woman is attached by her neck,” the sign read. “If you attempt to open this gate you will kill her.”

Sky News explains the opinions of both sides in a graphic:

UK Police Ready to Evict Travelers from Dale Farm

The conflict over the settlement has raged since 2001, when Travelers bought and settled on a former scrapyard next to a legal Travelers’ site. The local authority waged a long legal battle to remove them, which it finally won at Britain’s High Court last month.

Ball said Basildon council had declined a request for a last-minute meeting with Travelers once it had been established that the “only purpose” was to delay a clearance operation.

UPDATE:

The travelers have won a temporary injunction:

LONDON (AP) — A group of Irish Travelers facing eviction from their English campsite won a last-minute reprieve Monday when a judge prevented bailiffs from removing any structures in their settlement.

The tense standoff between residents of Dale Farm, 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of London, and local officials saw protesters chaining themselves to the gates of their camp as bailiffs moved in to enforce an eviction order.

The showdown follows a decade-long legal battle between the government and the Travelers – a traditionally nomadic group similar to, but ethnically distinct from, Gypsies or Roma people.

Late Monday, a judge at London’s High Court issued a last minute injunction preventing the Basildon Council from clearing structures, including cars and mobile homes, from the site before another court hearing Friday.

The news drew cheers from Travelers at the site, prompting chants of “We’re not going to go!” as some protesters began unchaining themselves from the barricades.

Council leader Tony Ball said authorities were “extremely disappointed and frustrated” by the ruling but would comply by halting the evictions until Friday.

Comments (43)

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  • SgtB
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 4:49pm

    Watch the other videos that come up after this one. In it they explain how a man was being robbed by two burglars while he was in his own home, he stabbed one to death and was taken to jail on murder charges. The Brits cannot even defend their own homes from violent attack with deadly force. I don’t think people like this should be our allies. I’d rather live in Russia than England. If someone breaks down your door in Russia, they expect to get a few rounds in the gut and head before they leave.

    England is a toilet and still a monarchy. They are all slaves and their laws prove it.

    Report Post » SgtB  
  • independentvoteril
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 3:43pm

    IF they bought it .. let them stay .. cut OFF all benefits.. years ago we had HOMESTEADING in this country.. you moved in on land that was not occupied and built a home.. garden for food etc.. but NO GOVERNMENT benefits.. Look at what they have done to us now.. even after we BUY the land take care of it and we STILL don’t own it..

    Report Post » independentvoteril  
  • proantisocialist
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 3:01pm

    if they are a nomadic group its time to move on.

    Report Post » proantisocialist  
  • THX-1138
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 3:00pm

    So, the “Travelers” are pissed because they can’t settle down?

    One of us is confused.

    Report Post » THX-1138  
  • Melvin Spittle
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 2:31pm

    There are Gypsy’s all over Europe. Hitler did not like them either and had them rounded up and gassed along with the Jews, some Catholics, and homosexuals. Iraq did the same thing with the Kurds. Even though we cannot compare the behavior of Kurds to Gypsies, they do have a right to exist. If they are breaking the law, then deal with them according to the law. Soon, we will also be rounding up families here in California that are now unemployed and living in tents. We will then classify them as filthy stinking squatters. Remember the Grapes of Wrath? We need to seriously deal with these types of issues and I do not mean by government program, but through private charitable intervention. All of the families that are living in tents that are there due to job loss and foreclosure are not there because they want to be: They are not as adept at manipulating the system as many of the multiple generation entitlement leaches are and therefore are at the bottom of the list when it comes to section 8 housing and assistance. The leaches are subsidized while the families and individuals that are true victims of the economy, receive no benefit.

    Report Post » Melvin Spittle  
    • JQCitizen
      Posted on September 19, 2011 at 3:15pm

      Well, though i agree with your assessment that these people should be helped by charitable organizations, the current adminstration is taking aim at charitable deductions, too. Apparently they think all charity needs to come from the government.

      How else would they be able to pit one group against another with their class warfare? They rob Peter to pay Paul all the time, so if private charities help, their GIG IS UP!!!

      Report Post »  
  • Jake in Denver
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 1:24pm

    It’s like “Snatch”. Except non of them look like Brad Pitt. And it’s not that interesting.

    Report Post »  
    • MUDFLAPS
      Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:19pm

      Ding Ding Ding Ding… for mentioning my favorite movie. Well one of the higher up ones anyway, I liked “Lock,Stock and Three Smoking Barrels” too. lol

      Report Post »  
  • glyn
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 1:18pm

    The trouble is they dont clean the area around if anything they allways ruin the areas they stay in.These travellers have homes in Ireland but choose to live in England claiming English wefare.They just found one travelers encampment they had slaves,the the travelers were promising work to homeless guys,taking them to their site locking them up in terrible conditions and pocketting their benefits.

    Report Post »  
  • addie
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 1:15pm

    If they bought the land, they should be able to do what they want. Sorry but I don;t care how filthy or thieving they are, they didn’t steal the land, they bought it legally. This just seems like a desperate attempt to banish them for this community. If you want them gone, buy the land back from them, not try to steal it from them by force.

    Report Post »  
  • mule creek ridge
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 1:11pm

    If Vanessa is for it ,I’m against it!!!!!!!!!!

    Report Post »  
  • Die Trying
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 12:52pm

    give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearing to breathe free

    Report Post »  
    • LadyLibertykicksASS
      Posted on September 19, 2011 at 2:55pm

      Please ……don’t invite any more dead beats; I’m sick of supporting them!!!!!!

      Report Post »  
    • SgtB
      Posted on September 19, 2011 at 4:44pm

      A French joke that went too far!

      Report Post » SgtB  
  • BurntHills
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 12:37pm

    the Brits would rid themselves of the simple con-man “Irish Travelers”, but they’ll let the filthy KILLER muslims put sharia law zones up all over England. and for THEM we fought the Battle of the Bulge and stopped Hitler ?!

    Report Post » BurntHills  
  • MarinesNolikeyObama
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 12:33pm

    I‘ll bet ya a periwinkle blue caravan they don’t get these people to move… they stay until the job is done.

    Report Post » MarinesNolikeyObama  
    • YepImaConservative
      Posted on September 19, 2011 at 7:16pm

      Mickey: Good dags. D’ya like dags?
      Tommy: Dags?
      Mickey: What?
      Mrs. O’Neil: Yeah, dags.
      Tommy: Oh, dogs. Sure, I like dags. I like caravans more.

      Lol.

      Report Post » YepImaConservative  
  • MarinesNolikeyObama
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 12:32pm

    Why not just re-lable their now “illegal” area as being “legal” and buy them all periwinkle blue caravans for their ma!

    Report Post » MarinesNolikeyObama  
  • OldVet
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 12:02pm

    The Irish Travelers are despicable. This summer, I was approached by a young man at a Wal-Mart gas station who said that he was taking his mother home to Dallas when he lost his billfold at a roadside rest stop and did not have enough gas to get there. I gave him enough cash to buy gas to get home. An hour later I saw him still working the parking lot! It turns out he was an Irish traveler and he was keying in on people with Christian symbols on the back of their vehicles. They know that these people are more likely to be charitable. There is a large group of them living in the DFW area. Beware.

    Report Post » OldVet  
    • TheBloodOfTyrants
      Posted on September 19, 2011 at 12:30pm

      Sucka! Never give to pan handlers! 99.9% of them are fakes, and that’s plenty (for me) to ruin it for the legit beggars. My favorite was the one in New York (somewhere out East, anyway) with “one arm.” Some reported busted him lol! Yeah, was sayin he fought with the 2nd Marines back in ‘Nam. Had patches on his BDUs and all that… 2nd Marines were never in Nam :) Just goes to show.

      Report Post » TheBloodOfTyrants  
    • addie
      Posted on September 19, 2011 at 1:11pm

      Never fall for them! I was waiting for friends near an intersection in Clearwater, FL and I watched a pan handler go from the intersection to his hidden car, behind a wall of shrubs, which happened to be a volvo. Granted it wasn’t a late year model but it was in excellent shape. He went to his trunk, grabbed some beer, hung out in his AC downing beer, then locked it up, grabbed his sign and walked back to work the intersection.

      Report Post »  
    • scarebear83
      Posted on September 19, 2011 at 2:38pm

      That’s why you should ask them where their vehicle is… if they get all fidgety then you know they’re just trying to get money from you. If they tell you where it is then either get a gas can or if it happens to be at the pump then go to the sales clerk and hand them the money directly and say you‘re paying for that person’s gas.

      Report Post » scarebear83  
  • NuffSaid
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:55am

    Here’s the Brits- Eject the Irish and move the Islamic enclave in.

    Report Post »  
  • Theswerd
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:52am

    The image above about both sides arguments prompted me to go here http://news.sky.com/home/interactive-graphics/dale-farm to look at the “Is planning permission Possible.” Teriangel and We The People Of The Republic (wow thats a long name) Asked about getting the permissions, and I thought the Blaze lacked the foresight to put the arguments on that issue up, so i will summarize here.

    Supporters for the Dale farm argue that “there is an adjacent plot used by the travellers which does have planning permission and that the area under the dispute was operating as a legal scrap yard before they bought it. They say that the council has used its discretion to override the green belt status of other areas in the past.” (qouted material is from the website exactly as it appears.)

    Basildon Council argues that “Dale Farm is in a green belt area, which imposes strict controls on how the land can be used. It says that there have been a number of breaches of these conditions at Dale Farm and that planning permission cannot be granted as the area cannot be used for residential purposes.”

    In reading all this, I realized that “green belt status” etc was some local/regional thing I know nothing about.

    A quick websearch got me to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_belt .

    Running out of space. Sadness. I can’t come down one way or the other on this… I think it really comes to local politics. But I thought a more informed post would help those of us who wish to form

    Report Post » Theswerd  
  • loadingmyclips
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:50am

    Legal area, Illegal area?? they are RIGHT next to each other! GEE how could we solve THIS dilemma??? stupid brits.

    Report Post » loadingmyclips  
  • biohazard23
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:38am

    These gypsies are a blight on the communities where they choose to take up residence. In Ireland, they frequently pitch their campsites along the road, in common areas, and anywhere else they can wedge in their trailers. They are filthy, disgusting people who don’t care what kind of damage they inflict upon an area. Brad Pitt’s character in the movie Snatch is a prettied-up version of the real thing.

    Report Post » biohazard23  
  • We the people of the republic
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:33am

    I don’t understand.
    If they need planning permission then what is holding them back from getting it?? give it to them.
    and if they are their illegally then why not work with them now that they were not bothered from the start and made to abide by this “Plannig Permission” thing. This obviously gave them the time to develop living conditions for themselves here.
    Now if they are just not allowed to live there, THEN these people need to pack up and move!

    RON PAUL 2012
    TEA
    This reminds me of the guy who put up a fence without a permit. instead of just having him pay for the permit and a fine they have him remove the fence.

    Report Post » We the people of the republic  
  • steve4u55
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:31am

    If they were muslims the would give them free health care, and help them build a mosque.

    Report Post » steve4u55  
  • teriAngel
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:31am

    so…why not just “give their permission”? Like the scene in Labyrinth…“You shall not pass without my permission”…OK…so can we have your permission??? They own the land…

    Report Post »  
  • IndianaJan
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:27am

    http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2002/06/16/Squatters-damaging-Hawaiis-state-parks/UPI-89401024217100/

    It already has.

    Report Post »  
  • biblegeek119
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:26am

    They bought the place, cleaned up and brought in mobile homes. If that is all that happened, I think they should leave this people alone.

    Report Post »  
  • TomFerrari
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:25am

    “Travelers” is an euphemism for “Gypsy.” It has been used for some time now.
    When a people are known for uncivil behavior, and change their NAME, but not their ACTIONS…
    they are still uncivil.

    It doesn’t matter if the land was a garbage pile. If it is not YOUR garbage pile, you don’t have the right to live there!
    On the other hand, if they OWN the land, and simply do not have the proper PERMITS, then there should be some way of obtaining the proper permits.
    .

    Report Post » TomFerrari  
    • SgtB
      Posted on September 19, 2011 at 4:53pm

      You shouldn’t need permits to live on your own land or let others live there as well. Especially if you do not accept or require anything of the municipality in the area. Such as if you have your own septic system and well, take care of your own trash, and you don’t require any other infrastructure to be paid for with municipal dollars…pounds…euros…whatever.

      Report Post » SgtB  
  • edcoil
    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:15am

    So if they were muslims would they evict them?

    Report Post »  
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