The Sundridge incident in Kent began with a one-acre field sold at auction in September or October for £167,000, far above its £60,000 reserve price, according to multiple reports. The buyer was Miles Martin Connors, and over Easter, travellers occupied the site, causing significant uproar in the local community. This event is part of a broader pattern, with multiple reports indicating similar land grabs occurred in three counties over the holiday period, a time when councils were closed and unable to prevent immediate planning rule breaches.
This strategy leverages a legal framework that allows for retrospective planning applications to be submitted after unauthorized work has been completed. Councils also have a statutory responsibility to assess accommodation needs for Gypsies and Travellers and to identify land for sites, a requirement that can complicate enforcement actions against newly established encampments. In Sundridge, the occupation was marked by what locals described as a military-style operation, with travellers bringing in diggers under cover of darkness on Friday, spreading rubble, and coordinating the arrival of up to 30 lorries.
The situation escalated when a static home on a truck became wedged in a country lane, blocking it until the early hours of Monday. During protests, a local was arrested for obstructing the highway, and James Evans, son of the parish council chairman, was separately arrested for obstructing police by telling locals to ignore requests to move cars that were blocking a lorry. According to Daily Mail - News, John Evans, chairman of the Sundridge parish council, described police as aiding a totally illegal operation and threatening locals with obstruction, accusations that Kent Police have not publicly addressed.
Police aided a totally illegal operation and threatened locals with obstruction.
In the aftermath, unfounded rumours circulated that the new residents were part of an infamous clan previously jailed for slavery, and John Evans was unfairly blamed for selling the site to travellers and accused of money laundering. Sevenoaks District Council confirmed the family legally owns the land but issued a Temporary Stop Notice to halt further unauthorized development. The ownership details and the family's long-term intentions for the site remain unclear, as does the status of any retrospective planning application.
In Flamstead, Hertfordshire, heavy machinery was moved onto a field within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on Thursday night, and concrete was laid, according to multiple reports. uk, villagers described travellers wielding iron bars barging their way onto the green belt land. Police stated they could intervene to prevent breaches of the peace but had no enforcement powers to prevent access or building work, a limitation that frustrated residents.
The Flamstead group later submitted a planning application for 14 plots and 42 caravans after the concreting occurred, though Flamstead Parish Council confirmed no known planning permission had been granted previously. Operations at the Flamstead site were large-scale, with around 300 trips made delivering materials, according to residents, who also reported that a police car was rammed off the road. Trees were felled illegally, blocking access to Friendless Lane, and police are investigating threatening behaviour, criminal damage, illegal tree felling, road traffic offences, and damage to cars and a police vehicle.
Travellers wielding iron bars barged their way onto green belt land and began laying concrete, villagers have claimed.
Photos evidence claims that Friendless Lane was blocked by vehicles heading to and from the unauthorized building site. Dacorum Borough Council responded by issuing a temporary stop notice and securing an emergency injunction from the High Court to halt work. However, the council's representation in court stated the injunction was breached, and according to the traveller group, locals allegedly sabotaged machinery while they were away.
The specific details of the injunction notice have not been revealed, and it is unknown how many times it was breached or what penalties may follow. In Alfold, Surrey, travellers moved in over Easter, creating what multiple reports described as a gated community with 17 plots, 21 caravans, and 5 static homes. Locals saw people measuring road widths before 30-40 lorries arrived with materials, but Surrey Police said it was a council matter and no criminal offences were identified.
Waverley Borough Council issued stop notices, but work continued, leading the High Court to issue an interim injunction ordering no further development. According to residents, people in Alfold are distraught, fearful, and intimidated by all-night building work and generators. A hearing for the site is scheduled for April 21, but the ownership of the land and the applicant's intentions are not publicly confirmed.
The events of Easter weekend were of 'an industrial scale' and highlighted the community's frustration.
These recent events echo a precedent set in Overseal, Derbyshire, where travellers set up an illegal camp during the August bank holiday in 2023, making residents' lives miserable, according to multiple reports. The land was sold by a developer to Michael Andrew Connors for £60,000 in June 2023. Locals accused travellers of verbal abuse, intimidation by shining lights, striking a gas pipe causing a major leak, burying waste, and having unattended blazes.
The site has three caravans and a digger near a primary school, with residents claiming foreign workers are dropped off at night. South Derbyshire District Council rejected a retrospective planning application submitted by 'S Rogers' for the site. Reactions to the Easter incidents have been swift.
MP Victoria Collins reassured Flamstead residents, stating the activity caused distress and damaged land in the Chiltern Landscape, and she said swift action over the Easter weekend shows what can be done when community, local representatives, and authorities come together. Lawful protests from some residents occurred on Sunday night in Flamstead, and Hertfordshire Constabulary confirmed a police presence was posted during and following the incident. uk, a Flamstead resident described the events of Easter weekend as of 'an industrial scale' and highlighted the community's frustration.
The implications point to a need for preventive measures during bank holidays, as waves of construction vehicles filled with aggregate and equipment began descending onto Flamstead village around 6pm on Thursday, destined for a site known as Cotton Spring off Friendless Lane. The land is on green belt and included under Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Residents alerted Dacorum Borough Council and MP Victoria Collins to seek a solution, leading to the emergency injunction.
Unresolved ownership issues persist across the sites, with questions about who exactly owns the land in Sundridge and Alfold and what their intentions are. Visual evidence from the encampments shows an abundance of aggregate laid down, with several construction vehicles on site, and further pictures show caravans and cars also on the land. There are suggestions a fallen tree was used to block the road in Flamstead, which has now been removed, and an altercation between those in construction vehicles and villagers is said to have taken place, with protesters eventually dispersing.
Ongoing investigations by police and councils continue, but the total number of arrests across all incidents and the specific charges have not been disclosed, nor have detailed measures to prevent future similar land grabs during bank holidays been announced.