In Sundridge, Kent, a group of travellers brought diggers and machinery to a field under cover of darkness on Friday before spreading rubble and smoothing it to make hard standing, according to multiple reports. Up to 30 lorries arrived at the site during the operation, with the first family moving in on Sunday. The family who moved onto the land legally own it, according to Sevenoaks District Council, which issued a Temporary Stop Notice on Tuesday night to halt unauthorized development.
During the operation, a three-bedroom static caravan loaded onto a lorry became wedged in a major country lane on Sunday, blocking it until 4am on Monday. Residents accused police of 'aiding and abetting' the travellers by not forcing the stuck lorry to turn back, and a local was arrested on Sunday for obstructing the highway after angry villagers called police and tried to block the road. In Flamstead, Hertfordshire, villagers spotted heavy machinery being moved in on Thursday night before a large area of concrete was laid on a field forming part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, multiple sources report.
Residents tried to stop the incomers but were met by thugs wielding iron bars, according to villagers. Allegations made in Flamstead include threatening behaviour, criminal damage, road traffic offences, and illegal felling of trees, residents say. Anger was sparked after trees were said to have been felled illegally and temporarily left blocking access to Friendless Lane.
Police said they could intervene to prevent breaches of the peace but have no enforcement powers to prevent access to the land or building work taking place. Dacorum Borough Council issued a temporary stop notice on Saturday to halt work, and Hertfordshire Constabulary is reviewing the ongoings at Friendless Lane over the Easter weekend. The first batch of caravans appeared in Flamstead on Easter Sunday morning, according to multiple reports.
In Alford, Surrey, travellers transformed a rural field into a 17 plot 'gated community' over the Easter weekend, with 21 caravans and five static homes brought to the site, multiple reports indicate. Police were called, but locals said they were told it was a matter for the council. The local council issued two 'stop notices' to try to force work to cease, but it has continued.
This pattern of bank holiday invasions allows groups to convert fields while council offices are closed, sources say. Retrospective planning applications are then submitted to councils after unauthorized development, according to multiple reports. Conservative MPs are demanding a change in the law to prevent anyone from being able to apply for retrospective planning permission after flagrant planning breaches.
The enforcement challenges are significant, with police limited to preventing breaches of the peace rather than stopping development work. Residents in Flamstead claimed the large vehicles used by the group damaged local roads and had missing number plates, and estimated around 300 trips were made by individuals delivering materials onto the site. In one incident in Flamstead, a police car was rammed off the road, it was claimed.
Several key questions remain unanswered, including who owns the field in Flamstead where the travellers set up camp and what specific enforcement actions will be taken against the travellers for the alleged criminal damage, threatening behaviour, and illegal tree felling. It is also unclear how long the travellers will be allowed to remain on the sites before legal proceedings or evictions are completed, what the total number of travellers involved across all three sites is, and whether retrospective planning applications for these sites will be approved or rejected by the councils.