The eviction of residents from a long-standing Traveller site in Essex has continued to gather extensive media coverage in recent weeks.
In a last-minute reprieve, Dale Farm residents were granted an emergency injunction by the High Court restraining Basildon council from clearing structures on the site pending a further hearing on Friday 23 September. The injunction also prevents the council from cutting utilities to the site, something that had concerned residents due to its potential effect on sick residents. Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart granted the order on the basis that measures carried out by Basildon borough council "may go further" than the terms of the enforcement notices. The original council deadline for the residents to vacate Dale Farm was 31 August.
The Guardian newspaper has reported this week that United Nations has been blocked by the UK government from helping to negotiate a deal between Travellers at the Dale Farm and the Basildon Council. Although UN-Habitat has taken a neutral approach and not spoken out against the planned evictions, in 2009 the UN Advisory Group on Forced Evictions mentioned Dale Farm in particular as an example of forced evictions. As reported in a recent Bulletin, the UN Special Rapporteur has warned that evictions could breach international law.