When you have camped on a private travellers' site in Eccles, Chatham, or Halling, it dictates your rights are based on the type of site it is in Rochester, that is, a protected site with planning permission and licence.
Travellers in Rochester that camp on a protected site have many rights and claims than their counterparts who are camping in an unprotected site, such as protection from eviction in Kent.
You don't have many rights if you're staying on an unapproved site in Rochester, which means that it doesn't have a site licence or planning permission in Kent, and the site owner will be able to evict you easily.
You should have other privileges as a common law tenant getting removed in Halling, Eccles, or Chatham, including the ability of notify for at least four weeks, but you may consider that impossible to execute in Rochester.
The land owner or the local authorities have the authority to evict the travellers if they've parked up on private land in Rochester without consent.
In fact, the owner may not be aware that you're there until they receive complaints about you residing on their Kent land.
It may be helpful to get in touch with the land owner in Rochester and explain the situation, if your encampment in Halling, Chatham, or Eccles is not a disturbance, and they are not using the land for any purpose at the moment, they may even welcome your stay.
If the resident or land owner in Rochester has decided that you should leave, they may:
Apply to the court in Kent for an order of prohibition or possession that requires you to move away from the land in Rochester
Ask the council in Rochester to evict you
Ask the Rochester police to act
Move you on from Kent themselves
Landowners can ask the Sheriff Court for an eviction/possession order in Rochester to remove you from their land if you are encamping on private land in Eccles, Chatham, or Halling without their consent.
If granted, the court will send you a paper called summary Cause Summons to invite you to attend court in Rochester for a trial of the case.
It is advisable to seek advice from Denbigh Franks or a legal practitioner once you receive a summons.
You can take help from the local Citizens Advice to find a solicitor in Rochester that can help you with this situation.
Since you are encroaching on the landowner's property in Rochester, your defence grounds are not so strong, however, the eviction in Kent can possibly be delayed by your solicitor based on human rights grounds, for instance, if it would be impossible for you to leave the land because a member of your family is sick.
If an eviction order is issued by the Sheriff in Rochester, moving on will be the only option.
A veto is an order from a civil court in Eccles, Halling, or Chatham that tells you to stay away from a certain person or place in Kent under any circumstances.
The travellers are sent the court papers when the landowner in Rochester applies for an interdict.
For example, it is possible that you get an interdict telling you not to enter land that is private in Rochester or telling you to empty an area.
Upon receiving these papers, look for a solicitor or a law firm immediately in Kent.
Your local Citizens Advice should be in a position to hook you up with a Rochester solicitor to assist.
Your solicitor will be able to act as your defence in court.
The court in Halling, Eccles, or Chatham will consider your situation before permitting the interdict.
For example, the court are unlikely to serve an interdict in Rochester if it is going to lead to grievous effect on your family.
According to the terms of interdict, the Kent police can arrest you if didn't follow the interdict's terms after it has been granted, you may not have vacated the land in Rochester.
The owner in Rochester may provide evidence about the damages you have caused to the property so, you will have to face heavy fines or imprisonment.
You may easily be removed from a Rochester property by the local council in Kent in case the owner has no planning authorisation for a particular section on their property or in the event that the location is likely to trigger public health concerns.
The police can ask you to move as a final resort in Halling, Eccles, or Chatham.
The expulsion of you without a court order is not unconstitutional for a landowner in Rochester.
However, in the event they harm you by destroying your vehicle or property, or inflicting injuries, you will need to file a case with the police in Rochester and have them charged.
However, you need to collect as much evidence as possible to prove your claims in the court and you can simply take some photographs or film the entire incident in Kent on your mobile.
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