See, I said I was going to write about Dale Farm again.
I had no idea it would be this though.
Every time I speak up in favour of the travellers on twitter, I get the same comeback from any number of anonymous and not-so-anonymous people. I’ll sum up the argument as, “everyone gets treated the same, they build on the land illegally, so they’re getting kicked off, everyone else does too.”
Activists have already published documents showing that Basildon council has granted planning permission on 9 other greenbelt sites in 2010/11. But that doesn’t quite convince folks who use the above argument, because, they say, those are sites that applied for planning permission in advance.
And then there’s also Len Gridley. He’s the man you see on TV, on the documentaries, the man who’s property backs onto Dale Farm and who is the cheerleader of the cause to get them evicted. Never mind that he’s had a council tax reduction due to the presence of the camp, and never mind that his property was built after the Dale Farm settlement had already had folk living on it for over a decade.
He’s a normal guy, a settled guy, he’s not racist, his occasional gun-toting antics are just the act of a man pushed to the limit. He’s just asking for like to be treated as like, and not trying to discriminate in any way, right?
Well, here’s where this all comes together. The Dale Farm campaigners have found documents, and a first hand witness who’ll give statements, that Gridley’s property, Windy Ridge, was “unlawfully built.” It was built on the same greenbelt that’s being used as the excuse to evict Dale Farm, and it was done without planning permission. The council served an enforcement notice on the property but never took action. Gridley later applied for, and got, planning permission to continue the development.
So let’s stop hiding behind “like for like,” and “fairness.” Lets stop pretending that what we’re seeing is anything other than a nasty, hateful campaign of ethnic cleansing. The rules are not applied equally, and never have been.
I’m not seeing this reported anywhere in the media. I’m not seeing angry celebrities trying to win cool points by shouting about this or standing up for people – I guess they only want to stand up for the causes that will also hell them sell their wares to the hip kids.
Visit the Save Dale Farm site, where you’ll find links to all the documents. And shout about this. Talk about it. They’re in court again on friday, and they need voices. Email sky news and the BBC. Write letters to Mr Tony Ball at Basildon council.
Lets stop racism and ethnic cleansing being carried out in our names.
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Lies, Damned Lies, and Basildon Council | Stringerville
via jaystringer.com
