BAILIFFS have today evicted travellers from an unauthorised plot on Green Belt land near the Crays Hill Estate.
After years of legal battles and millions in costs, around 50 bailiffs moved onto land off Hovefields Drive, Wickford, on Tuesday morning to remove the travellers from the site.
After a brief stand-off vehicles entered the site at around 9am on Tuesday morning to restore the Green Belt land.
Gratton Puxon, a founder of the Gypsy Council, was shocked by the move saying: "We're very alarmed by this. We hope people will have some sympathy with families who look like being put out and have nowhere to go.”
Most families had already moved on by the time bulldozers arrived to clear the site after a legal battle stretching back over five years.
In 2005, Basildon Council originally decided to serve enforcement notices on 1,000 travellers because they had no planning permission for their caravans.
This lead to a lengthy appeals process that saw a High Court decision condemning the move as “unlawful” quashed by the Court of Appeal in January 2009 leading the way for this week’s eviction.
Basildon Council hired bailiff firm Constant and Co which was given the contract worth up to £2.5million in January, and then met with police to draw up a plan of action.
Last month the council served 28 days notice on eight sites although one resident obtained a High Court injunction delaying action on her plot.
In response to the move Cllr Tony Ball, Leader of Basildon Council, said: “This action, which is supported by the courts, is the final part of a legal process which has lasted many years.
“I am extremely disappointed that direct action has become necessary. The Council has done all it can to encourage the travellers to vacate voluntarily. However, Basildon Council has an obligation to protect its greenbelt from unauthorised development.”