TRAVELLERS facing eviction from Europe's largest illegal gypsy site have received a boost to their long-running fight to keep their homes.

The 86 families living without planning permission at Dale Farm in Crays Hill will be visited by the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on National Minorities next month.

The visit will take place just days before Basildon Borough Council decides whether to evict the travellers in an operation which could cost the taxpayer up to £13 million.

Residents and supporters of Dale Farm are hoping the EU investigation will help sway councillors to vote to delay any eviction while alternative sites are found.

News of the visit emerged this week as children living at the site unveiled paintings they have been working on to the Gazette.

Traveller spokesman Grattan Puxon said the planned visit from the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities had "lent encouragement" to those facing eviction from their homes.

Traveller representatives are looking for new sites and have identified one that could be suitable on brownfield land in Gardiners Lane South between Crays Hill and Basildon.

To this end, they are meeting Billericay's MP John Baron and borough council leader Tony Ball at the House of Commons on March 1 to update them on their progress.

Meanwhile, Richard Sheridan, the president of the Gypsy Council, reiterated his desire to avoid a potentially violent eviction.

"We're in the midst of finding alternate places where we can move peacefully, working with John Baron and Tony Ball," he said.

The EU committee will visit Dale Farm on either March 10 or 11.

While in the UK, the delegation will also hold talks with the Equality and Human Rights Commission about the situation at Dale Farm.

Three days after the delegation returns to Strasbourg, Basildon Borough Council will hold an extraordinary meeting to decide whether to clear the site in weeks.

Cllr Ball and John Baron MP have both previously insisted that the "political will" to evict the travellers from Dale Farm is strong.

For more news from Dale Farm, see page 21.