A FAMILY of Irish travellers, who have ‘illegally’ occupied Newport council land for more than two years, have been told to leave the site by a court judge.

The McDonagh family moved onto the Ellen Ridge Gypsy and traveller site, in Hartridge Farm Road, Newport, in July 2019.

The Ellen Ridge site is the only socially rented traveller site in Newport and currently has a waiting list of applicants.

Newport City Council have sought to evict the McDonagh family from the site since 2019, because they do not meet the criteria to qualify for a pitch on the site.

A judgement from Judge Keyser QC said the family “admit they are trespassers on the land” but argued in part that “the council could and should relocate them from the part of the Ellen Ridge site where they currently are… to other parts of the land and tolerate them as trespassers there instead of seeking to evict them from the entirety of the land”.

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A pitch application from a member of the McDonagh family in July 2019 was rejected by the council because he had “not demonstrated that he had an aversion to bricks and mortar accommodation”.

In other words, several members of the family had lived in a number of homes since 2003.

The ruling also mentions that none of the family are elderly or have medical illnesses, which would make them more likely to fit the criteria for a pitch of the Ellen Ridge site.

As of March 2021, there were 16 applications that met the criteria for a pitch.

The judgement says: “Of those applications, seven relate to single persons and nine relate to households; each of those households contains at least one child or dependant.

The McDonagh family was represented by Stephen Cottle. He was instructed by The Community Law Partnership, which provides assistance to travellers throughout England and Wales.

The judgement says Mr Cottle emphasised the importance of the family’s way of life and that “this was not being respected by the council”.

It says: “The argument appears to come down to the following: that, although the defendants do not have accommodation needs that the council is under a duty to meet by the allocation of a pitch on the Ellen Ridge site, yet because the defendants have shown intent to continue occupying unlawful encampments and because that intent results from their cultural heritage as travellers, they should for some (unspecified but temporary) period be tolerated as trespassers on land in respect of which they have no rights of occupation.”

None of the family say that the council’s allocation policy is “unlawful”, nor do they argue that it was misapplied in their case. They also do not claim to be entitled “to be allocated a pitch on the Ellen Ridge site”.

A statement from the council on the judgement says: “Newport City Council welcomes the decision of the court. 

“As soon as the site is vacated by those illegally occupying it, and any required works completed, families on the waiting list who are eligible will be able to take up allocated plots.”

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has made attempts to contact The Community Law Partnership, but no response has been received.

To see the full judgement visit https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/Misc/2021/9.html