THE infamous Dale Farm traveller camp has become a fly-tipping haven ... eight years after violent evictions cleared the site.
The mass eviction, which received coverage across the world, was cleared by Essex Police in October 2011 following fierce battles between the travellers and bailiffs.
It cost the taxpayer almost £7 million.
While officials at Basildon Council claimed the site would be restored to Green Belt status, eight years on it remains a wasteland with piles upon piles of polluted rubbish which has been dumped over time.
Burnt out caravans, collapsed houses, children’s toys, shards of broken glass, mattresses and abandoned bicycles litter the site once housed by 90 traveller pitches.
In total Basildon Council forked out £4.3 million for the eviction, with Essex Police covering about £2.4 million.
Yet those living on the site paid back between £5,000 and £40,000 which they owed from the ten-year dispute between them and the council.
The fly-tipping situation at the site has now become so bad, travellers on the legal site next door were forced to put up a concrete wall to prevent people dumping huge amounts of waste there.
Brenda Jones, 70, a friend of a traveller family on the legal site, said: “It’s never stopped getting bigger since it was cleared.
“The mounds are just huge, you can see them from over the fences of the pitches.
“It’s absolutely horrible, it makes the whole place look like a total shambles to be honest, I don’t like it but don’t know what we can do about it really.”
The Echo reported in July how Basildon Council had been approached by a developer who wanted to build a large estate on the land.
Former councillors and residents have stated they are disappointed with the lack of action on the site.
Another resident of the legal site said: “Nothing has changed, we don’t get any help, and the rubbish just rocks up all the time. It looks awful and really dangerous, we don’t let our kids go near it.”
A Basildon Council spokesperson said: “This land is not owned by Basildon Council and as such it has no powers and legal responsibility to take enforcement action.
“However, we will continue to work with partner agencies to support their efforts in dealing with any issues.”
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