Migrants' illegal caravan village must leave farm
MIGRANT workers will be removed from a caravan village at an East Yorkshire farm, now enforcement action has been approved.
About 150 people have been living in 31 caravans at the site in Huggate, near Driffield.
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Neither the caravans or a number of large poly-tunnels at the farm have planning permission.
It has emerged East Riding Council's planning enforcement team is expected to serve a formal notice on the farm, requiring the caravans and the tunnels to the removed from the site.
The council investigation follows a joint site visit carried out by planning officers and representatives from the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA).
After the visit, the site owner surrendered his gangmasters licence.
Details of the case were revealed at a meeting of the council's safer and stronger communities scrutiny committee.
Peter Jackson, the council's private sector housing manager, said migrant worker accommodation issues remained a concern.
He said recent legal action taken against private landlords in Goole underlined the council's determination to tackle problems of migrant workers being housed in over-crowded conditions.
During the crackdown in the town, housing officers seized 50 passports being stored in one property and discovered an illegal cannabis factory in another.
Mr Jackson said: "We have undertaken joint investigations with the GLA, but together we can do more.
"The GLA is keen to work more closely with us because two of their most successful recent operations have been in the East Riding."
Just before Christmas about 30 migrant workers from eastern Europe were forced to start sleeping in tents in Goole after losing both their jobs and, as a result, their accommodation.
Mr Jackson said a dozen were still sleeping rough, some in houses earmarked for demolition, which had no electricity or running water.
Graham Cross, the GLA's regional compliance officer, said the agency was keen to formalise its joint working with the council through a memorandum of understanding.
He said: "We are an intelligence-led organisation and rely on people coming to us with information.
"Not all employers take advantage of migrant workers, but others exploit the situation.
"I have seen migrant workers break down in tears during interviews because they don't know where they are going to be working from one day to another, they don't know when they are going to get paid and they don't know how they might ever go home."
32 Comments
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by Daniel, Newcastle
Saturday, February 13 2010, 2:54PM
“People comments are quite funny and very narrow minded, complaining about the migrant workers! When the article clearly states its about the caravans not the LEGAL workers!! Why do you think the migrant workers are here? Because lazy british workers dont want to work for a living and instead live off my hard earned tax!! People need to wake up and realise that there the reason britain is the way it is! I know all about huggate farm as my wife worked there when she first moved to the uk, she has now made a life for herself here and contributes more to society then majority of you small minded benefits dwellers!!”
by maddie, my cushdy bed
Tuesday, February 09 2010, 9:55AM
“HELLO! we are in britian here! no doubt there surnames are all Smith!”
by Charles, cott
Tuesday, February 09 2010, 2:17AM
“I've no comment to make on this story; I just advise you to be prepared for the usual mix of right wing illiterate dross that you could expect from the Hull Daily Drone. read on ....”
by Doug S, West Hull
Monday, February 08 2010, 10:36PM
“Charlie, with your perception and such an accurate assessment of my character, what can I say? Except,
'Night, night Charlie - and don't forget 'nunu!'”
by Arthur, Ezzle Road
Monday, February 08 2010, 10:20PM
“This lousy rotten Labour Government has turned Britain into a cess pit, because it's mindset is back in the 1970's - still fighting for it's out of touch student ideals. People moan about migrants taking over, of course they do when we chuck away our country, and let all and sundry in and beklive me they won't go back home, who would when you can come to one of the best countries in the world. The excuse that migrants do what lazy dolescum won't do just doesn't hold up. If the government had some bottle it would stop handing out benefits to our breeding underclass and make them take the jobs the migrants do - two problems solved. But that's far too simple for the sixth form Marxist sociology students who run what's left of Great Britain. The sooner we get out of the EU the better, we are simply in ti be milked of all our assets, it's been a con from the start, but as usual middle class morons in Parliament are too naive to see when they are being taken for a mug by foreigners.
We want our country back and it's about time the do-gooders were chucked out and democracy takes over, the people should get what they want, not what lofty sneering MPs want to give us.”
by Gerald, Huggate
Monday, February 08 2010, 10:09PM
“SHIP EM OUT .,clean up the mess, pick up the rubish,We love our little village,AND WE LOVE IT TIDY.”
by john, Anlaby
Monday, February 08 2010, 10:09PM
“Pete ill tell you why bacause the empyoyers dont want to pay the english workers a decent wage so with our cost of living whats the point in taking these jobs.so it goes down to cheap labour with immigrants”
by Charlie, Always within striking distance.
Monday, February 08 2010, 9:24PM
“Doug S, West Hull...... Inside your head I'm sure you are master of all you survey, and with such a skewed, condescending, self- congratulatory view of the world I'm sure you'll always be very popular.”
by Barry, Hull
Monday, February 08 2010, 9:24PM
“Charlie, ditto from me. Trouble is local government and national government is full of unelected do-gooders who do not live in the real world, neither geographically nor mentally. My daughter is a student, is desparate for casual work during holiday periods, but can't get anything because of migrants filling all the posts, no doubt earning cash in hand, or subcontracting to gangmasters. It's a scandal, we should be out of the EU asap, it's a joke.”
by Charlie, Always within striking distance.
Monday, February 08 2010, 9:14PM
“Doug S, West Hull .... Whatever your skewed, self congratulatory view of this country is, bear in mind that many young people can't find work or get on the housing ladder.
Their are many good young people out there who are desperate to work for a living, and were it not for these work migrants there would be jobs with reasonable conditions and a fair pay rate to attract them.
These migrants live in zero cost accommodation and send their wages out of the country. They contribute zilch to the economy, and draw on local resources to breaking point.
Our improved standard of living comes about as a result of the hard work and taxes paid by our forebears, not as a result of the billions of pounds that we have had to pay to be in the EU.
We're not in the Eurozone, and the sooner we're not in the EU the better.”