I haven't mentioned anything about the goings on in Essex at Dale Farm before, but now that it appears to be all over then I have a few comments.
Firstly how about taking a look at the term "Traveler" by definition the word traveler means "persons with a cultural tradition of nomadism or of living in a caravan, and all other persons of a nomadic habit of living, whatever their race or origin". I agree with that statement.
Now, from what we are led to believe that the "Travelers" at Dale Farm have been living there for 10 years! That to me suggests that they have given up their nomadic traditions?
Also to live in a mobile home, with electric, sewage and water, some with brick attachments can hardly be described as a caravan! These 40ft mobile homes are not by any stretch of the imagination called caravans or indeed mobile!
I appreciate that they had legally bought the land, this is not in dispute, the fact that whether you live in your caravan/mobile home on your own land or on a site, the rules are the same. I go back to the 28 day rule!
What has also happened at Dale Farm is a multitude of planning laws have been broken. This is by far the biggest problem that the local council faced.
Obviously laws are in place to protect all of us from over development and should be maintained, without them in force or in this case upheld we see with dismay the amount of money spent on getting the result that the council wanted.
I have watched with interest, via the news and through social networking sites the attitude towards these people.
In my view, they are not travelers, those who choose to live in mobile homes with full facilities cannot be classed as the same as those who have a caravan that can be towed legally on the roads.
The true travelers of Dale Farm we saw drive away, with some rather splendid brand new caravans attached to their new Ford Transits! I priced one van I saw around £20k
So lets not get the two confused.
This is mainly in my view down to the media and how they word their reports. A few weeks back there was a mobile home park that the council has served eviction orders on the residents as they are for holiday purposes only and not for permanent living. Ok Im not going into the rights and wrongs of this as most of the residence were elderly and retired and possibly mislead at point of sale, but you could hardly call them travellers/Gypsies/Pikeys or any other discriminatory words could you?
But some of the exact same laws were broken! So whats the difference?
Funny how we choose to only see what we want to see!
So my point behind all of this is that if you choose to live in a mobile home, please dont call yourself a traveler!
Oh, and play by the rules and regulations which protect us all.
Anyone can comment on this post, of course I will edit out any seriously bad language but will publish all that is sent in.
I think that is a wonderful & very well written post, well done, I live approx 2mins from dale farm & have had various run ins with them, including be pushed into the path of an oncomong car in our high street, these are an insult to the true gypsies
ReplyDeleteHelen
A very well considered piece Jools. I have the feeling you held back some more forceful comments !
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right to flag up the question about their not travelling despite claimimg minority status for this very reason. In the area I live we have been plagued for years with illegal traveller sites and this is the point I always make when writing to the local authority; why do travellers need permanent sites ? If asked to move on it shouldn't be a problem to them, should it ?
If they refuse to move on then they are not travellers and can claim no special treatment under the law compared to anyone else.
"these 40ft mobile homes are not,by any stretch of the imagination called caravans or indeed mobile". Sorry Jools,but that is only an opinion,not fact.
ReplyDeleteThey are indeed mobile,as defined in The Caravan Sites Act 1968, Section 13(1)(b).
Twistgrip, thanks for pointing this out, but surely common sense must play a part in all this? If it had no elec/water/sewage connections then yes mobile, but if plumbed in, no! This is where the law is not strong enough or defined enough. Still doesnt get away with the fact that these "mobile" structures have been lived in on a permanent basis for 10yrs plus. However much you want to dress it up, this is where the problem really is. The rules are clear.
ReplyDeleteIt doesnt matter if its permanent or mobile, law says you cant do it!
In Broad terms I agree with your thoughts Jules. Many years ago I was shown hospitality on a number of occasions by two gypsy families whilst working away from home. They travelled, worked and paid their way. When they moved on the location was spotless.
ReplyDeleteMost of the areas vacated by travellers that I have witnessed have been left in a mess.
I suspect that many would quite like to buy a paddock in a nice rural area near the sea and just site a mobile home without having to worry about planning.
The same law must apply to all and it is ridiculous that this has dragged on.
On a separate note it is high time that we had trespass laws similar to Southern Island.
Easy T
It's a well thought out post Jools and I agree with everything you say. If they are travellers by definition then they should travel, end of. And if they want to stay put then they should apply for planning permission and be subject to the same rules and regulations as those of us who live surrounded by permanent bricks and mortar. And that doesn't just go for the Dale Farm residents, it should apply to any of the so-called 'gypsies' (I use the term loosely as I know there are a lot of genuine ones) who want to have their cake and eat it.
ReplyDeleteJools,I'm not "dressing anything up",merely pointing out to you what the legal definition of a mobile home is.Legislation that you seemed to be, hitherto, unaware of. You may not like,nor agree with that definition,but,like it or not,it is the definition that is enshrined in British law.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any actual evidence that they have lived there,continuously, for 10 years,or is your supposition based on the Bullshit and Brainwashing Corporation's idea of what responsible journalism is all about? mustn't let the facts get in the way of a good story!
I agree with(some of)what you say,being a 'van dweller myself,I too try to stay within the law,though sometimes I may have one foot, ever so slightly, over the line! No different from someone who is "settled" really!
I was brought up to disbelieve 99% of what I hear and read,and to treat the other 1% with the utmost suspicion. It has served me pretty well.
Twistgrip
People should be allowed to roam the lands freely. That land was previously a scrap yard. No one built houses then. It went to waste. We are all slaves to the money men of this world!!!! Im glad people stand up to the system! A lot more people would if they knew about the monetary system and everything else. It takes years of reading getting to know the truth about everything!! We are powerless to stop these people from new world order!! Even the news is edited! The news should have had mothers and kids being made homeless! Isnt that more important! These planning laws are to suit the rich! We are already an overcrowded nation. Where has all our green gone anyway. Any flat lands is built on where it can be. Where are the loveley scenic areas on the inner city estates!!!! These people are forced to live like that. The system has to have people down there. They have to control the masses. Did you know that the %1 of the worlds wealthiest are richer than the rest of the other %99!!!! We didnt make these rules or put these systems in place. Did you know that if you take each person on this Earth there is an area under third of the size of Australia for each man/woman to have a quarter acre piece of land with their own house, grow ctheir own food or whatever. Look at how much land mass is left on the planet. Im just bringing another point of view in here ha throwing in my little bit. Read up on the Rothschilds, the murdochs, freemasons, the monetory system and many other things. Open your eyes to THE REAL WORLD WE LIVE IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!! HA
ReplyDeleteIve only just read your comment twistgrip-brill. Ive just posted the comment about the WORLD HA
ReplyDeleteAnonymous:? No one forced them to live the way they do! They bought the land and then built on it without planning! It really is that simple, the same rules apply to rich or poor. Where has all the flat land gone you asked, well ask the "travellers" they built on theirs! So Pot and Kettle springs to mind and not a valid argument in this context. Why remain anonymous? Are you on a most wanted list?
ReplyDeleteVery well written. I honestly have no problem with the traveler community or their lifestyle *but* as you say, if they have made their trailers permanent dwellings on fixed sites, it does in fact take away some of what their culture is meant to involve.
ReplyDeleteI currently live in the United States, in a godawful military town that grew so quickly housing wasn't being built quickly enough. Now we have the awful statistic of apparently having 'more trailers/mobile homes per capita in the US'.
I hate it. For the most part, 'trailers' that have been there for 30 odd years are eyesores as they are not well maintained.
In contrast, the tourist caravan park near the beach *always* looks neat- of course, it is filled with *real* traveling caravans.
On the flip side, 'trailers' (mobile homes) that have been sitting for decades in one location really start to rot and decay- and the more of them in one area that you have, the worse it looks!
Keep up the fabulous work with your blog. Very interesting reading!