Forced eviction and planning enforcement: The Dale Farm gypsies

Forced eviction is a topic of growing importance globally, and the purpose of this article is to investigate a much-publicised recent case involving Gypsies and Travellers in the United Kingdom (not usually a country associated with such actions). After setting the context of planning enforcement law in the UK, Green Belt and other planning policies, and the status of Gypsies/Travellers as a disadvantaged minority group, the paper traces the history of the Dale Farm eviction over a 25-year period and analyses the legal arguments put to the High Court in unsuccessful attempts to defer and over-turn the eviction, against the context of internationally agreed guidelines. The research found that the judiciary gave full consideration to all aspects, in accordance with ECHR case law, and upheld the Green Belt and planning objections. The UK government was determined to proceed, resisting various offers of mediation, and the site was cleared even though no appropriate alternative accommodation was available, and notwithstanding that the occupiers owned their own plots. The case is a new development in a long-running history of forced eviction of Gypsies by local authorities, and is of interest in comparative study of treatment of Gypsies in other European countries, particularly in the context of the recent European Union Roma Inclusion Strategy.