Residents in Wickford, Essex, are struggling to sell their homes after a traveller site expanded despite enforcement notices. One homeowner has cut his asking price by £180,000 in an attempt to move away.
Site Expansion and Enforcement Failures
The site at the end of Newlands Road originally had permission for one static and one touring caravan in 2020, but it grew to have 16 caravans based there. Basildon Borough Council issued planning enforcement notices, which were challenged at a public inquiry. A planning inspector then ruled that five caravans could remain across two plots and gave the owners 16 months to remove the rest.
That deadline passed in July 2025, but more than a dozen caravans and other infrastructure remain. George Jeffery, a Conservative member of Basildon Council's cabinet, told the BBC he feared a "lack of enforcement" had left the authority with a reputation as a "soft touch". He said there was a "two-tier planning system", with rules applied unfairly.
Residents' Ordeal
Residents have previously described the impact of the site, with one claiming their "dream home and location has turned into a horror". Kevin Andrews said he had been unable to sell his property despite cutting the asking price by £180,000. He told the Basildon Echo: "We're trying to move because of this, the generators keep us up at night and we just have to live with the noise."
In November, Jeffery proposed a council motion calling for officials to draw up proposals for a "full range of enforcement routes" against the site. He highlighted that he was against all unauthorised buildings, not just certain ones.
Legal Action and Wider Context
The council is now considering a court injunction to force the owners and occupants to comply with enforcement notices. Basildon Council told the BBC it could not comment "as doing so could prejudice ongoing legal enforcement proceedings".
The area had a similar traveller incident at Dale Farm, which became the UK's largest illegal traveller site. After a lengthy operation that lasted years, 80 families were evicted in 2011. Last summer, Basildon had more unauthorised caravans than anywhere else in England, with numbers rising by 164% between July 2019 and July 2025.
This extends beyond Wickford. In January, England had 4,950 unauthorised traveller caravans without planning permission, up 73% from 2,860 in January 2020. However, campaigners argue that travellers can be left with little choice but to breach planning rules because of a shortage of authorised sites.
Cliff Codona, founder and chair of the National Travellers' Action Group, said the planning system leaves no option but to "break the law". He said planning applications are "stopped dead in its tracks" as soon as councils know you are a traveller.
Councils must provide enough authorised pitches to meet the needs of traveller communities in their area. A February report by Basildon officials found a "shortfall" in the supply of "suitable and deliverable Gypsy and traveller sites". Analysts concluded in 2024 that Basildon would need enough pitches to accommodate 302 households by 2042. Between April 2023 and February 2026, planning permission was granted for 31 new traveller pitches.
