The Caravan Sites Bill received its first reading in the House of Lords on 1 December 2011. This bill will attempt to bring back the duty on councils to provide caravan sites for gypsies and travellers which was originally contained in the Caravan Sites Act 1968. The obligation was repealed in the 1990’s and the second reading of the bill, when the debate will really begin, is anticipated to be early this year.
Lord Avebury, introduced the bill in the House of Lords in an attempt to provide an answer to the unauthorised encampments, his comments were as follows :-
“Gypsies and travellers are still the most deprived of all communities in the UK and this is partly because one in five of those who live in caravans are homeless. The formula that worked after 1968, reinforced by an obligation to grant enough planning permissions to eliminate the deficit, could make a big contribution towards their security and stability”
Lord Avebury was also involved in the introduction of the Caravan Sites Act in 1968 as a liberal MP through a private members bill.
No doubt this new bill will be welcomed by the Dale Farm travellers who are facing another bitter eviction battle from a neighbouring site. A majority of the travellers who were evicted from the Dale Farm Site moved next door to a legal site called Oak Lane. This has led to Basildon Council launching another legal challenge to evict them for breaches of planning conditions as the site has become too overcrowded. It is understood that the council are looking at serving eviction notices on a number of travellers at Oak Lane at the end of January.
It is difficult to know the exact cost to the tax payer of the Dale Farm battle and even though Basildon Council won the legal challenge, a solution has not been found to the problem, as evidenced by the latest situation at Oak Lane will testify.
The question may not be palatable but if this bill had been passed earlier and councils have a duty to provide sites for travellers would it have avoided the Dale Farm situation and all the associated costs?
Jane Crosby, Solicitor, Employment and Commercial Litigation
