in which travellers seek official recognition of their address
A judge has provoked outcry in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, after ordering the local council to aid in the granting of a postcode to an illegally developed traveller’s site.
Fylde council, who had sought an injunction against a group of 70 travellers who had set up camp in a field on the outskirts of the village of Hardhorn, were ordered by the Crown Court Judge to ‘use their best endeavours’ to help the community secure a postcode for the plot of land.
The travellers argued that the field, which currently has 30 caravans, needed a postcode to help emergency services find them. However, if a postcode is granted it will make the community eligible for connections to utilities such as gas, electricity and water as well as entitle them to claim state benefits.
A planning application for the development of the site is outstanding and will be decided separately from the court order. The decision on whether to give the site a postcode will be taken by the Royal Mail.
Comments