Wolverhampton City Council and others (Respondents) v London Gypsies and Travellers and others (Appellants)
Case ID: 2022/0046
Case summary
Issue
Can the Court grant final injunctions that prevent persons, who are unknown and unidentified as at the date of the order, from occupying and trespassing on land?
Facts
Since 2015 a number of local authorities have sought interim and then final injunctions against unidentified and unknown persons who may in the future set up unauthorised encampments on local authority land (so-called “Newcomers”). The persons concerned fall mainly into three categories, who would describe themselves as Romani Gypsies, Irish Travellers and New Travellers.
In the present appeal the Appellants challenge an injunction obtained in October 2018 by Wolverhampton County Council against “persons unknown” (“the Injunction Order”). They do so as a test case as the same issue arises in relation to a number of other local authorities who have obtained similar orders.
The High Court determined that final injunctions could not apply against newcomers who were not parties to the proceedings at the date that the injunction was ordered. It therefore discharged the Injunction Order. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal brought by Wolverhampton City Council and other local authorities and reinstated the Injunction Order.
Judgment appealed
Parties
Appellant(s)
(1) London Gypsies and Travellers
(2) Friends, Families and Travellers
(3) Derbyshire Gypsy Liaison Group
Respondent(s)
(1) Wolverhampton City Council
(2) Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
(3) London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
(4) Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Hampshire County Council
(5) London Borough of Redbridge
(6) London Borough of Havering
(7) Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council and Warwickshire County Council
(8) Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
(9) Test Valley Borough Council and Hampshire County Council
(10) Thurrock Council
[(11) Persons unknown]
Intervener
(1) Friends of the Earth
(2) Liberty
(3) High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd
(4) Secretary of State for Transport
Appeal
Justices
Lord Reed, Lord Hodge, Lord Lloyd–Jones, Lord Briggs, Lord Kitchin
Hearing start date
8 February 2023
Hearing finish date
9 February 2023
| Watch hearing | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8 February 2023 | Morning session | Afternoon session |
| 9 February 2023 | Morning session | Afternoon session |
Future Judgment Update
Please note that appeal in the matter of Wolverhampton City Council and others (Respondents) v London Gypsies and Travellers and others (Appellants) has been heard by the Supreme Court and is currently awaiting judgment.
As soon as the judgment hand-down date is confirmed, it will be published on the Future judgments page of this website. As a very broad indication, judgments tend to follow between three to nine months after the conclusion of the appeal hearing, although in some cases it may be earlier than that. Information about judgment hand-downs is usually announced one week in advance. We are unable to give any indication of the likely hand-down date for judgments not listed on the Future judgments page.