Travellers living on the site on greenbelt land in Essex lost an injunction to prevent their eviction after a 10-year legal battle yesterday at the High Court yesterday (31 August).
The 86 families confirmed they would appeal against the decision, but Basildon Council is already preparing to evict them from their camp, raising concerns over the future of residents’ children.
Debbie Harvey, co-ordinator of the Gypsy and Travellers’ Children project at the Children’s Society, said: "The impact will be catastrophic. Travellers’ children already have some of the worst education outcomes in the country, and living on the roadside, they will have difficulties accessing central services, healthcare and education.
"The psychological impact will also be important. Our experiences with children whose families were evicted have shown that they tend to be very anxious, with symptoms like bed-wetting, for a long time after the eviction."
According to the National Travellers Action Group, the decision will lead to a lot of children leaving school as parents will lack time to ensure they do their homework.
Chairman Cliff Codona said: "This is heartbreaking. It will massively affect these children and undermine their education. They will grow up in a terrifying world full of resentment."
Tom Farrell, education adviser at the Children’s Legal Centre, pointed out the difficulties Travellers experience in getting school places.
"New school places will have to be sought for these children. Travellers can find it difficult to prove their residence in a school-catchment area, and so are often refused school places. In any case, most schools will already have allocated all their places in preparation for the new academic year. As a result, many of these children may be left without education."
Campaigners are also worried about the health of some of the residents but Mr Justice Kenneth Parker, who pronounced the ruling, asked the council to take that into consideration before eviction.
Councillor Tony Ball, leader of Basildon Council, said: "Direct action to clear Dale Farm is a last resort for the council and we take it reluctantly – but after almost 10 years of legal wrangling, the Travellers have left us with absolutely no choice.
"We will continue to offer housing assistance to those who may become homeless as a result of the clearance and we will work closely with other agencies such as the NHS to provide necessary support for the more vulnerable members of the community during the operation. Action will only take place after we have informed the Travellers of the intended date of when the operation will begin."
