Dale Farm Listing Bid Fails
Many people will now be familiar with the ongoing situation at Dale Farm near Basildon, where the Council is trying to secure the removal of a group of Travellers who have established a site there without planning consent. The Planning Portal has recently reported that the Travellers had sought to get the scaffold entrance gateway listed as they considered it an emblem of a struggle for traveller rights.
However, the Heritage Minister John Penrose commented on the matter, confirming that following advice from English Heritage, it had been concluded that the tubular steel, wood and rubber construction holds no special architectural or historic interest and does not therefore meet the criteria for listing. It nevertheless remains to be seen whether Basildon Council’s efforts to remove the Travellers will prove successful.