Traveller family who live on boxer Billy Joe Saunders' land ordered to leave

Sunday World

4 days ago

High Court judge Alison Morgan has given the family six months from now to remove the static home that has been there since 2019
A Traveller family who have been living on a site owned by boxing champion Billy Joe Saunders for several years have been given six months to leave.
Patrick Flynn and Selina Diana O'Leary, who live with two children aged 10 and 14, are being evicted after a ruling by a judge at London's High Court following a long-running legal battle.
They have been ordered off the caravan site in Hertfordshire that lies within a Green Belt and the Brickendon Conservation Area.
The site had been officially owned by ex-middleweight boxing champion Billy Joe Saunders.
His former firm BJS Sports has been highlighted in the new injunction, according to MailOnline, although he was found to no longer be responsible for the site.
High Court judge Alison Morgan has given the family six months from now to remove the static home that has been there since 2019, having ruled that East Hertfordshire District Council can go ahead with evicting the site's occupiers.
The judge found that it was 'necessary to uphold the integrity of the planning system as the conventional enforcement measures have proven ineffective in resolving what is a clear breach of planning control'.
Boxing champion Billy Joe Saunders
Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 1st
The legal team representing Mr Flynn and Ms O'Leary had argued in their defence that the family should be given more time to stay, as the children attend local schools.
However, they have been told not only to leave the site but also to pay legal costs of £16,609.
A post on the website of the London-based law firm FTB Chambers, which led the case against the occupants, reads: 'The High Court has granted an injunction which requires the cessation of an unauthorised residential use following a long-standing period of non-compliance with an enforcement notice.'
Described in court documents as a wagon builder and painter, Mr Flynn (64) has been living in the three-bed chalet home with his wife and children since at least 2018.
Ms O'Leary is described as a vocalist and singer who has performed internationally according to court documents.
The local authority's legal action was launched against not only that couple but also BJS Sports and Billy Joe Saunders but the judge said Saunders (35) no longer owned the land in question.
She added that any proceedings against him should be discontinued.
Billy Joe Saunders was officially recorded on Companies House records as no longer being 'a person with significant control' with BJS Sports in February 2023.
Mr Flynn said he had been to court and 'said what I could to make them understand this is a family home'.
'I've asked for six months to find a new place after Christmas as I've got enough stress already and the children don't deserve it,' he told MailOnline.
'I wouldn't have minded if the council gave me a place to go on a back road, whether it was an old house run down that I'd have to do up myself - I wouldn't mind.
'But we've had no help, no support, nothing. Nobody looks after each other anymore. There's no community.'
An East Herts District Council spokesperson said moving anyone from their home is not a decision that's taken lightly.
'This particular case has been ongoing since 2019, during which time we have repeatedly offered help to the family to find somewhere else to live,' the spokesperson said, according to MailOnline.
'We regret that it has taken a High Court injunction to resolve this, but we welcome the judge's recognition that we have tried for a long time to deal with the situation fairly and proportionately for everyone involved.
'The injunction requires the unauthorised residential use of the land to cease by 4 December 2025. We have again offered our support to the family should they wish to take that up.'