6
CONNORS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
get into the field to deliver the goods directly, the Council unloaded the
goods at the edge of the field, informed the applicant and kept watch until
they were collected.
32. A group of gypsies was at that time on the land at Cottingley Drive
for the purpose of attending a wedding. This group did not however leave
by 1 August as previously agreed, staying on to attend the funeral of a baby
who had died on 31 July 2000. The Council prepared eviction proceedings
and included the applicants as “persons unknown”. The applicant alleges
that no assistance or advice was given to them as to where they could go,
save for an offer of accommodation at Bridlington (on the east coast) which
failed to take into account the local community ties of the family who had
lived on Cottingley Springs site for most of 13 years and in the Leeds area
for some 20 to 30 years.
33. An application for adjournment of the possession proceedings was
rejected by the County Court on 14 August 2000. The applicant and his
family moved from the land and travelled around the Leeds area stopping
for a few days at a time.
34. The Government stated that the applicant and his family had
returned to the caravan site three times since as trespassers. The Council
applied for an injunction to ban the applicant and his family from entering
the site. The outcome of these proceedings is not known.
35. The applicant stated that following the eviction he and his family
were required to move on repeatedly. Partly at least due to the stress and
uncertainty, the applicant’s wife chose to move into a house with the
younger children and they were separated in May 2001. Daniel lived for a
while with the applicant. Following the eviction, he did not return to school.
The applicant stated that he continued to travel in his caravan, with his son
Michael and occasionally Daniel, but that they were unable generally to
remain in any place for more that two weeks. He continued to have chest
pains for which he received medication and tests. As he had no permanent
address, he used his wife’s address for postal purposes, including medical
appointments.
II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW AND PRACTICE
1. Provision for gypsy sites
36. Prior to 1994, the Caravan Sites Act 1968 provided in section 6 that
it should be the duty of local authorities “to exercise their powers ... so far
as may be necessary to provide adequate accommodation for gypsies
residing in or resorting to their area”. The Secretary of State could direct
local authorities to provide caravan sites where it appeared to him to be
necessary (section 9). In addition, approximately 100 million pounds
sterling (GBP) was spent under a scheme by which one hundred per cent