Travellers have transformed a grazing paddock on the edge of Hillam, North Yorkshire, into a caravan site in a 48-hour operation described as being carried out on a “military scale”. Residents watched as the group moved onto land after council offices closed on Friday, September 11, with lorries stripping away grass and covering the site with concrete rubble, stones and bricks before tall fences were erected and dozens of caravans moved in.
Rapid takeover and council response
Septic tanks were brought onto the site to deal with waste, while residents said wildlife including deer had been driven away by the activity. North Yorkshire county councillor Tim Grogan said: “It was planned and executed incredibly fast, it was an operation conducted on a military scale.”
“They knew that if they started work on the Friday afternoon they would be able to continue for the entire weekend with no council action to stop them.” Residents had contacted North Yorkshire County Council to halt the development, but no officials were available over the weekend. Much of the work was completed on September 12 and 13, with the council taking another week to serve a stop notice preventing further construction.
Impact on the community
Mr Grogan said people living nearby were now “devastated”, adding that he had heard of two families whose house sales had fallen through since the site was established. Neighbour Dean McKeown, 66, said he believed the council's order had been ignored. He said: “The council eventually served them with a notice but I can see from my property that the work is still going on.”
“It's a disaster for the village. I had my own property on the market but the likelihood now is that the sale will fall through and I'm not the only one in that position. When I look out now at what has suddenly been built in the middle of the Yorkshire countryside I'm still a little in shock, it looks awful and it won't be getting taken down any time soon.” The Travellers are now applying for retrospective planning permission, with Mr McKeown saying they were confident their legal representation was “better than the council’s”.
Legal action and wider context
The development comes after Housing Secretary Angela Rayner relaxed building rules last month, with concerns raised that Travellers could now find it easier to obtain retrospective planning approval. Former Shadow Housing Secretary Sir James Cleverly has previously warned about Travellers establishing camps within a single weekend, including in his own constituency, and accused them of abusing retrospective planning applications.
North Yorkshire Council said it had taken legal action to stop further development. Nic Harne, the council’s corporate director for community development, said: “On Saturday, we secured an interim injunction from the High Court preventing any further unauthorised development at the site.”
“The injunction prohibits any further caravans being brought onto the land, the construction of additional structures, the installation of services or drainage, and the importation of materials or laying of hardstanding. We recognise the concern caused within the local community and have kept elected members and the parish council informed throughout and we will continue to provide updates as the case progresses. The court has listed a further hearing in a month's time to determine whether the interim injunction should continue in place. We will continue to take all appropriate action available to us to protect the interests of residents, ensure compliance with planning law and pursue matters through the courts where necessary.”
