Dalewood Gardens

11.31.56pm UTC (GMT +0000) Sun 26th Mar 2006

Dalewood Gardens in Northgate. Work in progress on anti-Travellers measures 6 months late due to the Borough Council not listening to the local Lib Dem Councillors

Work has commenced at last on anti-Trespass measures at Dalewood Gardens, Northgate. As regular readers of this website will know there was a mass trespass by Travellers on this site that lasted for over 6 months and was only resolved in the High Court of Justice in London. What makes this case all the more frustrating was that in the days before the trespass local Liberal Democrats Councillors Gordon & Linda Seekings had called for the site to be protected to prevent exactly this sort of incursion.

Work in progress on anti-Traveller measures. When finished the blocks will be removed and the earth bund being built will be landscaped and seeded

It was before 15th August 2005 - the day the Travellers first left Dalewood Gardens - that Northgate Councillors Gordon & Linda Seekings made various requests to Crawley Borough Council to protect Dalewood Gardens from more Traveller incursions when the group at present on the site had left.

Section of near completed earth bund at the road entrance to Dalewood Gardens

On 25th August Linda Seekings e-mailed the Borough Council to ask what steps were being taken (or had been taken) to protect Dalewood Gardens as there was seemingly nothing being done. Later that day Linda was advised that nothing could or would be done until 5th September when the Officer who had the main responsibility for Travellers issues returned from holiday.

Anti-Traveller blocks waiting to be replaced by a protective earth bund

4th September was the day that the same Officer had to advise all Councillors that Travellers had returned to Dalewood Gardens.

Gordon & Linda Seekings were told by residents that at least one of the vehicles used in this second incursion of Dalewood Gardens had been involved in the first one. As such this Traveller had broken a Court Order not to go back on the site within a defined period. All this information was passed on to the Borough Council by Gordon.

On 6 September Gordon was advised that legal action was being taken to evict the Travellers but this would not be based on an eviction of a return to the site but on new proceedings. The Borough Council believed that this would be a speedier approach to take.

It wasn't.

The eviction has now only happened - more than six months later.