Travellers want gateway listed

Residents of the UK's largest illegal Travellers' site have applied for listed status for the scaffolding gateway at the entrance to the site.

For five years the gateway at Dale Farm near Basildon, Essex, has carried banners supporting the residents. It has become an "emblem of the struggle for Travellers' rights", campaigners say.

English Heritage said the application was "highly unusual" but that it was "legally obliged to consider it". Its website says it designates the status to "protect and celebrate England's historic buildings, monuments, parks, gardens, battlefields and wreck sites, by highlighting their special interest in a national context".

The planned clearance was due to begin last week but an injunction is stopping bailiffs moving in while legal appeals are heard at the High Court.