Building an evidence base on wide anti-encampment injunctions

Organisation: Community Law Partnership

Location: England, outside of London

Despite a landmark Court of Appeal judgment called LB Bromley v Persons Unknown in January 2020 and a significant judgment of the Court of Appeal in a protest case called Canada Goose v Persons Unknown in March 2020 which criticised the use of wide injunctions which target Gypsy and Traveller encampments and which target protestors, in June 2020, a total of 22 local authorities outside of London still had anti-encampment injunction orders in place.

A group of charities from Gypsy and Traveller civil society wrote to all local authorities with an anti-encampment injunction in place to notify them of the outcome of the Bromley legal case but none of the councils who responded said that they intended to withdraw or vary their existing injunction orders.

Through funding from Roadside Futures, Community Law Partnership is able to assess the application documents and evidence submitted by local authorities to the courts as well as the judgements in each case (if available) against the guidance set out in the Court of Appeal ruling, provide a legal opinion for each case and draft submissions to be sent to the court and the local authority and to appear as an interested party at hearings if required.