A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Dale Farm Timeline

The timeline was developed by the Dale Farm Housing Association

Post-War – The Basildon New Town community, in Essex County, is developed for East Londoners who lost their homes in the war. In 1955, the area is included in a new scheme to create a ring of land around London that will be designated “Green Belt” and protected from development, in an effort to prevent urban sprawl.

1970s - Although Dale Farm is on Green Belt land, part of it is converted by the owner into a scrap yard for old cars. The Basildon Council permits this development even though it results in hundreds of wrecked cars being dumped at the farm. This is helped by the fact that Dale Farm is relatively isolated.

1968 – The Caravan Sites Act requires local councils to provide land for Gypsy and Traveller sites, where they can park caravans.

1994 – The Government relieves local councils of responsibility to provide sites for Gypsies and Travellers. At the same time, sections 61 and 62 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994 allow police to remove trespassers from private land without going through the courts. This turns Travellers into trespassers and drastically limits their ability to move around the country.

This is taken by the Travellers of Dale Farm as an incentive to buy land and settle. Several Irish Traveller families purchase land at Dale Farm from the owner (in a separate area from the scrap-yard) and subdivide the land for members of their families. Some pay up to $40,000 for a yard - each yard covering an area of about 100 feet x 100 feet. Planning permission for about 80 caravans is eventually obtained from the local Council and 50 plots (known as “yards”) are developed. At this time, the Council is controlled by the left-wing Labor party. The Council starts seeking “designation” as a first step towards issuing more planning permission.

Travellers also start to buy land to the east at Dale Farm, which is occupied by the wrecked-car yard. They spend their own money in sewage, electricity, water and other services. An estimated 75 percent of the Travellers are British citizens.

But this second group is refused planning permission to develop their land by the Basildon Council, which is now controlled by the Conservative party, on grounds that the land is Green Belt. This will now become the central bone of contention between the Travallers and the Council. The Council also points out that the road to the encampment (Oak Lane) is a public road, and unable to bear the traffic to Dale Farm, even though the road also services the authorized yards. One of the leading critics of the Travellers, Member of Parliament John Baron, also lives in a development built in the Green Belt.

1998 - The Human Rights Act is passed, incorporating the European Convention on Human Rights into British law. It requires that public authorities have regard for the rights of individuals before taking any action that may imfringe on the rights laid out in the Act. Article 8 (right to respect for the home, private life and family) and Article 1 of the First protocol of the European Convention (right to enjoy undisturbed enjoyment of possessions) are particularly relevant to the Travellers because they would be most affected by eviction. The European Court of Human Rights has accepted that upholding of planning law is a legitimate aim, and that evictions are legal if they are “proportionate.” This means weighing the interests of the community as a whole in upholding planning law against the hardship that will be caused to those evicted.
 
1999 – The Council issues the first enforcement notice against a Traveller family, ordering a halt to development. A total of 42 enforcement notices are served by the Council. Appeals take place.

2000 – A new Race Relations Act requires all local authorities to promote race relations. Romany Gypsies and Travellers are recognized as a racial group and thus entitled to the full protection of the law.

January 2002 – Travellers continue to move onto the site and are issued with 12 enforcement notices. All are appealed in August 2002 on the grounds that not enough time is given to comply. By now there are some 80 caravans, mobile-homes and chalets at Dale Farm, all lacking planning permission.

May 2003 – Government planning inspectors dismiss more appeals for planning permission. The 86 Traveller families are given two years to leave the site.

2004 – In an effort to resolve the growing problem of illegal Traveller and Gypsy housing, the 2004 Housing Act reverses policy again and asks local councils to assume more responsibility in finding housing for Gypsies and Travellers who reside in their area (Section 225). Councils are asked to carry out housing assessments (GTAAs) to estimate the housing needs of Gypsies and Travellers. The idea is that this information will be fed to a Regional Assembly, which will allocate new quotas to each council in a region so as to spread the burden equitably.

April 2004 - The first of several local public enquiries is held on the Dale Farm enforcement notices. The appeals are dismissed.

Summer 2005 – In June, the Basildon Council votes to spend three million pounds of public funds to evict the 86 Dale Farm Traveller families. The council splits on party lines, and Labor members of the Council vote against the decision. The Travellers appeal to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Council of Europe, for support.

The Advocacy Project publishes the first of several news bulletins about Dale Farm, which is beginning to serve as a refuge for other Traveller families evicted from their land elsewhere.

Meanwhile the British government estimates that 18 million pounds ($36 million) is spent annually blocking off land that Travellers might try to camp on, and on evicting Travellers both from their own private land and from locations where they don't have permission to stay.

John Prescott, the deputy Prime Minister, suggests that the Basildon Council make available land at Pitsea, an area in Basildon area which is not Green Belt and so could be developed.

August 2005 – The Dale Farm Traveller families, now with their own residents' committee, secure a temporary injunction preventing their eviction until a decision can be taken on whether to grant them a judicial review. In the meantime, they plan to continue with appeals. They have currently appealed against the eviction of seven selected families.

November 2005 – The British High Court agrees to conduct a judicial review of the council’s eviction order. This freezes the Dale Farm evictions by the Basildon District Council, although 11 properties (occupied by 14 families) are not covered by the judicial review.

2006 – Government figures show that Traveller and gypsy children are falling behind at school. Only 19 percent of Irish Travaller children achieve five GCSE passes at school in the UK, suggesting a very low level of educational achievement.

February 2, 2006 – The office of John Prescott, the deputy Prime Minister, issues a new administrative circular (ODPM Circular 1/2006), which sets out a comprehensive new government strategy on Gypses and Travellers. This will serve as an important point of reference in the whole Dale Farm debate and is an important statement of political will by the Central government.

ODPM 1 replaces a circular from 1994 and confirms the profound change of government policy that has taken place. Instead of expecting Gypsies and Travellers to find their own land, and relieving councils of any responsibility, the government asks councils to play a central role in ensuring that everyone has a “decent home” and that Gypsies and Travellers are treated no differently from others. It also broadens the definition of Gypsies and Travellers. The circular reaffirms the approach laid out in the 2004 Housing Act, under which councils will estimate how much land is needed for Gypsies and Travellers. These housing assessments (GTAAs) will be passed to the regional planning body (Assembly) - the Assembly will then allocate a number of pitches to each local authority. The circular states clearly the Green Belt can be used in “exceptional cases.” It also asks that “transitional” arrangements be developed, while the assessments are being undertaken. It asks that the each council consider the human rights of those affected and – if necessary – seek legal advice. Finally, the circular asks councils to assess the impact race relations when making decisions. The circular’s emphasis on assessment throughout should be noted. It places a very clear obligation on councils to review and assess before decisions are taken on eviction.

August 9, 2006 – Ruth MacKenzie, an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Ruth Kelly) rules on the seven appeals against eviction and visits Dale Farm to hear evidence.

December 15 – Basildon council will be asked to find 81 new pitches. This decision will be reaffirmed in January 2008, and appealed by the council). The deadline for identifying new sites is set at 2011, although the independent Task Group describes this as “imply not acceptable” given the pressure on Travellers and local communities.

September 21, 2006 – Inspector MacKenzie issues her report on rejecting 7 appeals by the Travellers.

Her report concludes that the harm to the Green Belt and the community from the unauthorized Dale Farm encampment outweighs the likely impact of eviction.

She accepts that Travellers would be forced into “illegal roadside camping” that would cause “trauma and serious hardship especially for the more vulnerable members of the appellants’ families. Education and health care would be interrupted. Families might have to be split up. All of these things would result in interference to home and family life.”

“However, the interference has to be balanced against the harm to the Green belt, the harm to highway safety, and the harm to the rights and freedoms of the settled community in Crays Hill. These harms all have negative effects of the economic well-being of the country – a legitimate aim. A balancing exercise has to be undertaken.”

The inspector notes, in passing, the “exceptionally high rate of absence from the local school” which suggests that the appellants’ commitment to education is not “wholehearted.”

The inspector rejects the seven appeals.

According to the Council, there are 107 unauthorized pitches in the Basildon area of which 50 are at Dale Farm, and 112 authorized pitches. Of the 112 authorized pitches, 25 were identified by the Essex County Council and the rest were developed by the Travellers themselves.

February 22, 2007 – Local Government Minister Ruth Kelly backs the decision by Ruth Mackenzie, a planning inspector, that the "illegal" Dale Farm Travellers should leave immediately, and that even temporary permission would be "a green light for further development."

The Minister agrees that “many of the appellants and their family members have particular health problems and that if they had to resort to roadside camping their lives would be much harder.” However, she says, none of the specialist hospitals attended by Dale Farm residents are in Basildon. The implication is that they can just as easily find health services elsewhere as in Basildon.

The Minister also agrees that “the disruption to the children’s education would also cause hardship.” But she also notes the very high rate of absenteeism at the local school. While she does not draw any conclusions about the attitudes of the Travellers towards families, the implication is clear – they are not committed to education, and so cannot complain that their children will be forced to leave the school.

The Minister concludes that any eviction would be a proportionate response and would not result in a violation of the Travellers’s rights under Article 8 of the European Convention.

April 2007 – Legal aid is granted to Travellers to fight their appeal against eviction. They seek a stay of eviction, and submit a planning application to develop on land that is owned by English Partnerships, a government agency, at Pitsea, still in the Basildon area. Although this location has been recommended as an alternative for Dale Farm families by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, it is rejected by the Council. Under Mr. Prescott’s circular (ODPM 2006/1) the council is required to assess the Traveller’s housing needs – with a view to finding new land if necessary.

June 2007 – The Basildon Council issues eviction orders against the 14 families on the 11 properties. They are to leave by July 6. Zach Scott, an Advocacy Project Peace Fellow arrives to help the Dale Farm community with its advocacy, and collects affidavits from the families. These affidavits highlight health problems and show that the Travellers are determined to keep their children in the Crays Hill Primary School, now attended exclusively by children from Dale Farm.

July 4, 2007 – The Travellers hasten to get the 11 properties covered by the Court’s judicial review before the July 6 deadline. When it appears they will succeed, the Basildon Council agrees to halt the evictions scheduled for July 6. Meanwhile, the Council continue to employ Constant & Co, the company which promotes itself as a specialist in the eviction of Travellers and Gypsies. Several Traveller homes at nearby Hovefields Avenue are bull-dozed.

August 22, 2007 – AP Peace fellow Zach Scott leaves after three tumultuous months at Dale Farm. The local paper (Basildon Echo) writes the last of several articles on Zach, describing him as a "controversial human rights activist." One of the comments reads: "Good ridence (sic) Tree Hugger – DON’T COME BACK IN A HURRY!"

October 2-4, 2007 – Clive Hughes, an inspector, holds a hearing on an appeal by Anne Sheridan, a Traveller who faces eviction. This is another test case by the Travellers. He recommends against accepting an appeal by Anne Sheridan and other Travellers for the same reasons as before – that the damage caused to the Green Belt and the community by ignoring the planning process outweighs the likely impact of eviction. This is accepted by Yvette Cooper, who is now the Secretary of State for Communities and local Government. It is the second time a Secretary of State has found against the Travellers.

October 29, 2007 – Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, and Milan Kothari, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, issue a statement urging governments to take "positive steps" to protect the housing rights of Roma in Europe. Five leading organizations (The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), the Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM), the Italian human rights organisation Osservazione, and the Slovak NGO Milan Simecka Foundation (MSF)) issue a joint statement accusing 16 European governments of "serial abuses" against the housing rights of Roma, Gypsies and Travellers in Europe. Dale Farm is included.

November 5, 2007 – Richard Sheridan, chairman of the Dale Farm Association visits Brussels to argue against the evictions at a conference to review efforts to combat policies which exclude 10 million Roma and Travellers from mainstream society in the 27 European Union countries.

November 16, 2007 – Supporters of the Dale Farm Travellers protest outside the British embassy in Dublin.

November 20, 2007 – Gypsy supporters of the Dale Farm Travellers protest outside the home of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

November 2007 – The Dale Farm Travellers decline a request by the Basildon Council to update personal information on their families, on grounds that the Council has previously published personal data without seeking permission, in violation of the Data Protection Act. (The Council is being sued by the Children’s Legal Center at Essex University on behalf of three Traveler children.) The Travellers agree to co-operate with the Essex Racial Equality Council, an independent body, to collect information instead. Their survey will show how many children are in school, the number of sick and disabled people there are within the community facing eviction.

November 28, 2007 – The Travellers association submits a 100-page appeal to the British government against the Council's decision to reject planning permission for the alternative site at Pitsea. Initially, the alternative mobile-home park would accommodate 10 of the families most in need, including disabled and elderly persons, and children with special educational needs (four are profoundly deaf). A public inquiry is expected to review this appeal.

November 2007 - The Travellers start talking to the British Red Cross about mitigating the impact of any possible evictions. Among the suggestions - a refugee "tent city" for families that are forced out. The NGO Shelter Box, which has provided up to 35,000 tents for Tsunami victims, is also approached to provide emergency housing.

The Essex Racial Equality Council, a statutory body which has been highly sympathetic to the Travellers, issues an assessment of the Travellers’ welfare needs at two unauthorized sites – Dale Farm and Hove Fields. The report is commissioned by the Basildon Council as part of its obligations under ODPM 2006/1. The Council interviews 50 families (equated to 122 people). The report does not make a recommendation on eviction, but highlights the grave needs of the Travellers. Of the 50 families, only 5 do not report some illness among their members.

December 2007 – A government-appointed Independent Task Group on Site Provision and Enforcement for Gypsies and Travellers, appointed by the government, concludes that the problem of illegal Traveller sites is “small” and that they account for only 4,000 pitches in  the entire country – “less than one square mile of land across the country.”

The Council writes to Keith Lomax, lawyer for the Travellers, promising to take the human rights of the Travellers into account. This raises hopes of a change in policy.

December 12, 2007 – The Regional Assembly, comprised of representatives from councils in the east of England, meets to decide on the allocation of land, based on the assessments it has received from individual councils. Essex is asked to find 371 new pitches. Of these, 81 will come from Basildon. This is not far short of the 107 “unauthorized” pitches in the Basildon area. There are 52 unauthorized pitches at Dale Farm.
 
December 13, 2007 – The Development Control Committee of the Basildon Council reaffirms the decision to evict the Dale Farm Travellers.

The decision repeats the argument of the inspector, and Minister Kelly and is taken by 3 votes to 1, with one abstention.

January 2008 – A meeting is called by the Essex Fire & Rescue Services to review health and safety issues relating to forced eviction. In an effort to forestall possible trauma and injuries, the Travellers will demand that the entire area of Dale Farm be treated as a demolition site, that everyone be removed in advance, and that all safety regulations are strictly observed. (In the past, bailiffs and police have largely ignored such safety concerns, moving heavy machinery, crushing homes and lighting fires in the presence of small children.) A DVD illustrating how safety rules have been broken at previous evictions is aired at this meeting.

January 28, 2008 – The Regional Assembly reaffirms the decision to ask Basildon Council to find 81 new pitches for Travellers and Gypsies. The council rejects the methodology used to reach this figure and threatens legal action.

January 30, 2008 – The European Parliament passes a resolution outlining a comprehensive strategy on Roma and by extension other Romani cultures such as Gypsies and Travellers. The policy underscores the importance of providing education for children, and engaging local government. While not binding on member governments like Britain, the resolution sets out an important policy framework.

February 11, 2008 – The British High Court will begin a judicial review of Dale Farm issues, including Basildon's use of 3 million pounds of public money to drive 157 "unauthorised" Traveller families from the district and bulldoze up to 100 of their homes at Dale Farm and Hovefields. The hearing is expected to take a week. A rally will be held outside the court by Travellers and supporters calling for a moratorium on all evictions until all Britain's 350,000 Gypsies, Travellers and Roma have a legal place to live.

February 11-15, 2008 – The Travellers’ appeal goes before the British High Court. Justice Andrew Collins, a British High Court judge, hears arguments for and against an appeal by eviction by Kathleen MacCarthy, one of the Dale Farm Travellers.  40 Travellers from Dale Farm hire a bus to attend the hearing. Judge Collins says he expects to issue a decision after Easter. James Dasinger, a college student in California, who has recently arrived at Dale Farm as AP’s new Peace Fellow, helps the Travellers organize for the hearing.

March 8, 2008 – According to the local Basildon Echo, Nigel Smith, leader of the Labour councilors on the Basildon Council, announces that Labour will allow the Travellers to remain at Dale Farm. Another Labour councillor describes the council’s decision to set aside 1.9 million pounds ($3 million) on the evictions as “an outrageous amount of money to set aside, to enforce planning laws at a former scrapyard in an anonymous country lane."

March 9, 2008 – The Washington Post runs a story by AP about Dale Farm pointing out that Travellers in Britain are a protected minority and deserve protection, not mass eviction. The article also argues that eviction will interrupt progress in meeting the Traveller’s medical and education needs and perpetuate their marginalization from society.
 
May 13, 2008 – In a far-reaching decision that could galvanize efforts to combat homelessness across Europe, a British High Court judge has halted the eviction of 86 Traveller families from Dale Farm in Southeast England, and ordered the local authorities to find alternative land where the Travellers can live legally and free from discrimination.

(Updated September 26, 2008)