Travellers at overcrowded Brent site asked to leave by council
Mr Corcoran, who is considered by residents as one of the elders in the community, said he had always accompanied council representatives any time they visited the site. "If they're coming down here to evict everyone, they'll have to have the British army with them," he told the BBC.Nearby, Brigid Corcoran, 48, of no relation to Mr Corcoran, pointed to a mobile home close to her own. "That's my daughter's home. She lives there, she needs that," she said. She said Brent Council had asked for it to be removed. "If I don't agree to that, I get an eviction," she said.In early April, a wave of "notices for breach of licence" were sent to residents from the council, beginning a process of civil litigation.Mrs Corcoran believes she is one of roughly 300 residents, including 90 children, who face eviction if they do not comply with the council's demands "to bring the site within safe and legal limits".Residents were told that voluntary compliance was encouraged "to avoid the need for legal escalation".
Lynton Close, which opened with 31 pitches, has become densely populated over the years and overcrowding is not a new issue.A report by Brent Council estimated there were now as many as 74 mobile homes on site.In 2017, months after the Grenfell Tower fire, Brent Council published a report on the traveller site and described space between individual homes and neighbouring pitches as "practically non-existent", and said this posed a fire risk.It said the risk of a fire spreading would reduce if a gap of 19ft 7in (6m) was "maintained between each individual residence" or "a fire-resisting wall" was built between each residence.Residents who the BBC spoke to said that neither of the mitigation measures was discussed with them nor implemented.When the BBC asked Brent Council about any efforts to complete the work that the 2017 report requested, the council did not respond on that point, but said the site's most recent risk assessment superseded the 2017 report.
A London Fire Brigade officer who previously worked with the council on making Lynton Close more fire secure said he installed about 70 smoke alarms " in every van and mobile home that we could".
Brent Council said the site's level of overcrowding had become an "intolerable risk to life" and told residents that it had accommodation in the borough ready for them to move into."The properties that we have found and matched families to are available now. They are all in Brent and have been matched to the specific requirements of families," the local authority told residents in a letter in April.One woman, who did not want to be identified and who cannot read, told the BBC that the council asked her to sign a document relating to its offer of a temporary property.However, she said she did not realise that she and her family may end up outside the borough if she signed the document.Kim Wright, chief executive of the council, apologised to the family and said established residents were assured there was "safe, affordable, secure, bricks-and-mortar accommodation for them in Brent".
Some residents have left the site in an effort to comply with the council's breach notices.In early May, the BBC observed one family leave Lynton Close, towing their mobile home with a pick-up truck. "We'll try to find a Tesco or Asda car park, or some vacant land somewhere," the driver said.
Dr Nancy Hawker from non-profit organisation London Gypsy and Travellers said some of the Lynton Close residents had been made homeless."The council had promised to accommodate anyone displaced as a result of the council's orders, but they have broken their promise," Dr Hawker said."We have found where residents of Lynton Close have agreed - under pressure of threats of wholesale site closure - to move at the council's behest, they have been denied council accommodation, and have been made homeless as a result."
Ms Wright said she would not comment on the specifics of individual cases, adding that residents who were not deemed to be "established residents" would not receive the same housing offer."Any members of the community who weren't living there in April as an established resident absolutely will be supported through our homelessness program," she said.
Local Labour MP Dawn Butler wrote to Brent Council's chief executive "deeply concerned" by what she saw and heard from residents after visiting the site in May. "Many families feel they are being displaced once again without consideration, echoing generational trauma," she said in a letter.Ms Wright said the council was not conducting "enforcement evictions"."What we've been doing with the residents is working with them really constructively in the last few months," she said."We recognise that there have been some mental health concerns and some anxiety and distress on the site and no-one wants to be in the position to see that."We have put in place a package of support for them through a community support day."
Many Lynton Close residents told the BBC that they feared speaking publicly about what was happening in case they were treated unfairly.Many also said they had no intention of moving into the bricks-and-mortar accommodation being offered by the council and called it "culturally inappropriate".Ms Wright said: "I recognise that bricks and mortar is not their chosen lifestyle."We have a situation at the moment where that site is unsafe and there are overcrowded living conditions and no responsible landlord wants to see their tenants living in those conditions."We've been clear with any family who is interested in moving that it would be a temporary relocation for them and we have already had two families that have moved off the site into bricks and mortar on a temporary basis."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Hundreds gather at vigil for mother and children killed in Co Fermanagh shooting
Hundreds of people have gathered for a community vigil in memory of a woman and her two teenage children who died following a shooting in Co Fermanagh. People wrapped their arms around each other as they remembered Vanessa Whyte, 45, a vet originally from Co Clare, her son James, 14, and daughter Sara, 13. The vigil was organised by a community group and held at the primary school, Maguiresbridge Primary School, where James and Sara previously attended. A book of condolence, set up next to a framed photo of the family and surrounded by white flowers and candles, was also opened at the school. The principal of Maguiresbridge Primary School, Honor Irvine, described both James and Sara as popular pupils who loved sport. 'I'm a teaching principal so I taught them both for two years,' she told the PA news agency. 'James was full of fun, always laughing, loved to get a laugh, loved to be outdoors. 'Sara was the same. Sara loved outdoors, bit of a tomboy, and the two of them got on very well, (had) lots of friends and were very popular in school.' She described their mother Vanessa, who was a member of the parents' support group which organised fundraisers for the school, as 'full of life', and a 'roll up your sleeves, get the job done' type of person. She said the vigil, facilitated by the school, offered a place for the community to grieve together. 'It's been lovely to hear people who knew Vanessa and knew Sara and knew James, talking about them and sharing memories,' she said. 'For the community, its a place to mourn together and to support and comfort each other.' She said the family were 'much loved' and would 'live on in our memories at Maguiresbridge Primary School for many, many years to come'. 'It's hard to put it into words to be honest, we're just heartbroken. And I don't think it has sunk in, it will be the days and weeks ahead when we realise the tragic loss that has happened in this community,' she added. The vigil was organised by the Village Rural Development Association to give people an opportunity to 'come together and support each other at this difficult time'. 'This is an opportunity for our village to stand together in the face of such grief,' it said in a statement on social media. Flowers, teddy bears and an Arsenal football top with written notes have been laid close to scene of the incident in Drummeer Road. A fourth person, a man who was a member of the same household, remains in a serious condition in hospital in Belfast following the incident on Wednesday. A murder investigation has been launched and police said a triple murder and attempted suicide is one line of inquiry being pursued. First Minister Michelle O'Neill said the level of the tragedy is 'overwhelming'. 'Everybody I have been speaking to finds it very hard to convey what they really feel, deep in their hearts, because there are moments in life that really do stop us in our tracks, and certainly for me, this feels like one of those moments,' she told the BBC. 'People are really stunned and tears have been shed for this beautiful family. You only have to think about Vanessa, a young mother, her two gorgeous children, a whole life ahead of them, and that has all now been cut short. 'It's a harrowing time, obviously immediately for their family, for everybody that loved them, everybody that knew them, the community that they lived in, the wider Fermanagh community and even further than that. This has impacted so many people.' Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir described what happened as 'heartbreaking'. 'Vanessa was a highly respected vet and work colleague. The situation that has unfolded here is heartbreaking and my thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends, work colleagues of Vanessa, and also James and Sara,' he told the BBC. 'It's really difficult to comprehend to be honest.'
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
EuroMillions results and numbers: National Lottery draw tonight, July 25
THE draw for tonight's National Lottery EuroMillions (July 25, 2025) has taken place, with life-changing cash prizes at stake. Check the results to see if you have just won a fortune and bagged enough to start that jet-set lifestyle you always dreamed of. Every EuroMillions ticket also bags you an automatic entry into the UK Millionaire Maker, which guarantees at least one player will pocket £1million in every draw. You can find out if you're a winner by checking your ticket against tonight's numbers below. Tonight's National Lottery EuroMillions winning numbers are: 06, 07, 23, 32, 36 and the Lucky Stars are: 11, 12. The UK Millionaire Maker Selection winner is: VDKF07947. Tonight's National Lottery Thunderball winning numbers are: 24, 31, 35, 36, 39 and the Thunderball is 01 TOP 5 BIGGEST LOTTERY WINS IN THE WORLD £1.308 billion (Powerball) on January 13 2016 in the US, for which three winning tickets were sold, remains history's biggest lottery prize £1.267 billion (Mega Million) a winner from South Carolina took their time to come forward to claim their prize in March 2019 not long before the April deadline £633.76 million (Powerball draw) from a winner from Wisconsin £625.76 million (Powerball) Mavis L. Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts claimed the jackpot in August 2017 £575.53 million (Powerball) A lucky pair of winners scooped the jackpot in Iowa and New York in October 2018 The first EuroMillions draw took place on February 7, 2004, by three organisations: France's Française des Jeux, Loterías y Apuestas del Estado in Spain and the Camelot in the UK. One of the UK's biggest prizes was up for grabs on December, 4, 2020 with a whopping £175million EuroMillions jackpot, which would make a winner richer than Adele. Another previous UK winner who's whole life was altered with their jackpot was a player who wanted to remain anonymous on October 8, 2019. They walked off with a cool £170,221,000. Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs in Scotland, netted a huge £161,653,000 in the July 12, 2011. Adrian and Gillian Bayford, from Haverhill, Suffolk, picked up £148,656,000 after they played the draw on August, 10, 2012, while Jane Park became Britain's youngest lottery winner when she scooped up £1 million in 2013. The odds of winning any EuroMillions prize are 1 in 13. Could tonight's jackpot of £119million see you handing in your notice and swapping the daily commute for slurping champagne on a super yacht or lying back on a private beach in the Bahamas? 2
The Independent
6 hours ago
- The Independent
Why I, as a straight woman, will be marching at Trans+ Pride
I'm not a marcher at heart. I tend to panic in crowds or really anywhere without a good mobile signal if I'm not on horseback. I don't attend parades because they're usually too hot. In short, I'm like a rather pathetic indoor plant. Nonetheless, I will be donning tabard and face mask to steward the accessibility block of London Trans+ Pride: the 'plus' is to include anyone's identity; the mask protects the disabled marchers who lead the march. I'll be there with the many other non-trans people who have attended excruciatingly comprehensive training sessions on Zoom, all wanting to show support for a community who have been made Villain of the Week by a tiny yet overexposed force desperate to stamp on someone more vulnerable than themselves. Certainly, this was why my friend Sara and I first volunteered last year; neither particularly keen joiner-inners, both requiring continuous applications of SPF50 to safely set foot outdoors in July, but rendered so cross by what was being said about trans people in our name that we did what generations have done and channelled our Inner Aunt. Certainly not in The Handmaid's Tale sense, and perhaps slightly less in the formidable Wodehosian, but in allyship; caring about people who aren't your children, and fulsomely advocating for them. I had no idea what on earth to wear to a march, or who would be there, so I wore a wonderfully pedantic T-shirt made by my friend Helen Zaltzman for her language podcast The Allusionist, highlighting that the singular use of 'they' has been in use since 1375. In the lack of a protest sunhat, I wore a cap I'd won in a competition by the, erm, Equestrian Noticeboard. Shortly after I arrived, another steward said hello. It turned out that they worked for a very popular horsey brand and had been volunteering at Trans+ Pride marches since their child came out. Offering support to this march as a straight cisgender person matters (sorry if you dislike that term – please blame academic science). The unfolding campaign against trans people is a ringingly clear repetition of Britain's appalling treatment of gay men through the 80s and 90s. The highest-profile curb on trans rights came in April, when the Supreme Court ruled the legal definition of a woman is someone born biologically female. The focus on trans women – never trans men – narrows the idea of 'What is a woman?' to one that affects anyone who doesn't fit stereotyped femininity. When I was a contestant on Only Connect in 2022, someone tweeted that they were 'supporting the trans team', presumably because I am a very tall Second Alto with my dad's jawline. I took this as both a compliment and further proof that anyone who says 'You can just tell ' where appearance is concerned is unrelentingly stupid. The trans people I know are objectively more attractive than I am, for one. The 'gender critical' crowd's nonsensical rubbishing of anyone who seems different impacts us all – not just in terms of how we are perceived, but in taking us backwards. It is rolling back our humanity. The most moving signs I saw at last year's Trans+ Pride were those held by parents, warmly offering free hugs to people whose own parents didn't accept them. It reminded me of last month's exhibition of the UK Aids Memorial Quilt at the Tate Modern and everything I have learned about the Aids epidemic when families shunned their children or banished their partners. Being 'critical' of someone's right to exist is perilously close to fascism. The United States has shown where such anti-freedom legislation can lead in the shortest time. Rolling back on trans rights is a dangerous path – and one that entirely distracts from the real issue. No man, God bless them, needs to spend years transitioning in order to attack women. Anyone with that cruelty in mind can do so by simply walking through their front door. It is important for us to stand up now, however much we feel it doesn't affect us, because, truly, it does. In the years since Section 28 was ended, I've seen relatives' views on gay people evolve from 'He must be terribly sad' to greater understanding. It hasn't 'made' any of my straight relatives gay. My own understanding has evolved, too, because a side effect of Section 28 was breeding ignorance – and that despite the work Channel 4 did to quietly educate British kids through late-night documentary strands and Eurotrash. New rules suppressing trans discussion in schools, brought in by this Labour government, won't stop young people questioning their identity. It will only make them less safe – just as it did when 'gay' rang out as an insult across BBC radio and school playing fields. The legacy of Section 28 showed us Britain that suppression only wounds; it doesn't prevent. However much their identity might frighten you – or, perhaps, society's response to this identity – you cannot stop someone being who they are, only delay it. Nor can you make anyone what they are not. The government may have forgotten the sins of the past – even, and most shamefully, those among them who themselves are gay – but I have not. I have no wish to return to being the ignorant person I was, nor letting wildly over-amplified voices overtake society's reason. Life unquestionably has particular challenges for each of us, but those of us who are heterosexual and non-trans are lucky enough to be playing in society's default mode. Standing up for the rights of our fellows under challenging circumstances is not limited to the distant past. It continues to be the most British of values – and the right thing to do.
