Furious neighbours have accused councils of 'sitting back and doing nothing' as travellers used diggers and bulldozers to tarmac over fields in a fresh wave of illegal land grabs. Unscrupulous developers took advantage of the late May bank holiday weekend to move in caravans on patches of picturesque countryside in Hampshire and Hertfordshire.
Hampshire Incident
Locals in the hamlet of Wivelrod, Hampshire, said 'all hell broke loose' last Friday when lorries with heavy machinery started thundering up and down their tranquil lane. Over the course of the three-day break, and despite planning permission not being obtained, a nearby field was concreted over and a number of mobile homes moved in.
Hertfordshire Incident
Meanwhile, in Wilstead, Hertfordshire, an unauthorised traveller pitch with a hardcore base was also set up on a patch of countryside off the A6. In both cases, neighbours claim their local councils were aware that such works were taking place but did nothing to step in and stop them.
Broader Context
It comes amid a slew of high-profile cases where travellers have purchased land, often in leafy parts of the Home Counties, before swooping in to lay tarmac and create pitches. They have then sought planning permission retrospectively, forcing local authorities to kick them off an area already built over, in frequently lengthy and costly processes. In many cases, the travellers have been granted the right to establish permanent encampments on the land because there is an 'unmet need' for pitches in the area.
Local Reactions
Locals living in Wivelrod told of their dismay at the development. One anonymous man said: 'A week ago all hell broke loose. Before it all happened, everything was normal, everything was tranquil. Then all of a sudden these lorries started thundering past. We have lived here for 40 years and people don't tend to come and go that much but we feel like we have been violated. We're a close-knit community, we're not unwelcoming, but how can you welcome people when they behave like that? It is really stressing me out and my wife is not sleeping.'
Planning permission for a traveller site in Wivelrod was first sought in 2019 after the land was sold to new owners, but this was refused following objections from locals. The decision went to appeal but this too was dismissed in November 2022, and since then, the land has only been used to graze horses and ponies.
Council Criticism
Neighbours have criticised East Hants District Council for not doing enough to stop the unauthorised works over the bank holiday weekend. 'We feel completely ambushed and completely unsupported by the council,' one person said. 'They published a sort of banner note on their website on Tuesday, saying they were aware of what was going on but they have done nothing to prevent the works. There are around half a dozen or so caravans on the site now. The council has already decided that the field is not suitable for gypsy pitches so why have they not moved faster and prevented the works?'
MP for East Hampshire Damian Hinds called for the law to be changed to make clear that development done 'deliberately without planning permission is never acceptable'. He said: 'I put to ministers that it should be made clear and unambiguous that retrospective permission cannot later be given if planning consent requirements have been willfully ignored. I also support the case for rules against delivery of construction materials and mobile housing units to unlawful sites, and fast-tracking court processes for councils to serve and enforce injunctions.'
Wilstead Developments
In Wilstead, locals alerted Bedford Borough Council to the possibility of the development of an unauthorised traveller site at a parish council meeting in May. However, they say their concerns were dismissed and, instead, a mobile home was moved onto the plot over the weekend. Borough Councillor Marc Frost described the area as an 'open space' that should be protected. 'It is nothing to do with the fact that it is the travelling community. It is open space and should remain open space,' he said. 'The rules that apply to everybody else - if you want to put a gate up, if you want to sign up - those rules apply to everybody and should be applied here.'
A spokesperson for the owner of the land told ITV he is a 'terminally ill' man with two sons, one of whom has a newborn baby. 'We believe that every family deserves somewhere safe and secure to live,' they said in a statement. 'It is difficult to understand how animals such as horses, cows and sheep can be kept on fields, yet our family is prevented from living on land that we legally own. We simply needed somewhere to live. If members of the settled community become homeless, accommodation and support are often made available to them. In our experience, those same provisions have not been available to us.'
Council Responses
Bedford Borough Council issued a planning notice on Saturday. However, the owners of the site have since submitted a retrospective application for the traveller pitch. An EHDC spokesman said: 'Council officers attended the site after receiving reports of the caravans arriving over the bank holiday weekend. We have visited the site several times this week and are taking robust action to address the situation as quickly as possible. We have instructed a stop notice to be issued today (Friday 29 May) and will be issuing proceedings on Monday (1 June) with the High Court for an injunction to prevent any further unauthorised development of this site.'
A Bedford Borough Council spokesperson said: 'We were alerted by residents at 5pm on Friday evening, in response to that information Council officers attended within two hours to see if there was any activity or occupation of the site which met the threshold of breaches to planning control. When a caravan arrived to occupy the site on Saturday morning, Council officers immediately used their legal powers and served an emergency planning notice to stop any further occupation and works under the Town and Country Planning Act. The Council can only take formal enforcement action where legal thresholds and planning or breaches take place.'
