Protesters have thwarted a ‘land grab’ by travelers who saw bulldozers razing a nature reserve.
Local residents turned out en masse this weekend, with many camping overnight, to vent their anger after a field was taken over in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire.
There were cheers and cheers this morning as vans and diggers were forced out by dozens of police officers who had arrived to ensure all construction work came to a halt after a High Court order was imposed.
A temporary stop warning issued by the council on Saturday was ignored and travelers’ work continued this morning until Hertfordshire Police were called.
Sawbridgeworth Mayor Angus Parsad-Wyatt said it was “an incredible effort from all communities” to remove the diggers.
Police will remain at the Sheering Mill Lane site throughout the day and will carry out patrols in the area.
Cllr Parsad-Wyatt said: “I would like to reiterate our thanks to everyone who took part in peaceful protest all weekend, to the police for carefully handling a difficult situation, and to the East Herts officers who worked at pace all weekend to get the necessary court hearings and powers so quickly.
“An incredible community-wide effort.”
Police officers attended the site in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, to ensure diggers left the area and any unauthorized work came to a halt
Local residents are protesting at the site in Sheering Mill Lane
A tattooed man with a can of Stella Artois speaks to officers at the site where work was taking place without a building permit
Aerial photographs show that since the land grab on Friday afternoon, a paved surface, a concrete surface, has already been laid and fences have been erected to create five plots.
There are also two caravans parked on the site where muntjac deer roam, despite an order temporarily blocking further development on the land, moving caravans onto the site and banning anyone from occupying the plot.
Josh Dean, Labor MP for Hertford and Stortford, said he was ‘shocked by the blatant disregard for the rules and the damage done to our environment’.
He joined campaigners yesterday, saying in a statement on his Facebook page: ‘The law needs to change to ensure local authorities have the powers they need to quickly end this type of activity. I will raise this with government and parliament, and I will work with our community to ensure your voice is heard.”
East Herts Council said the work had been carried out without planning permission.
‘The High Court order meant that anyone caught carrying out activities prohibited by the order – including bringing caravans onto the site and occupying the land to carry out construction projects – could be arrested by police. No arrests were necessary,” the council said.
‘We will continue to work closely with Herts Police and our other partners to monitor the site and prevent further unauthorized work. Anyone concerned about further activity at the site should report it to police by calling 101.”
Hertfordshire Constabulary told the Daily Mail that officers entered the site this morning and that ‘all those who had unauthorized access left the site peacefully’.
A spokesperson for the force said: “This followed an amended High Court order, which was granted and served this morning. The High Court order meant that anyone caught carrying out activities prohibited by the order – including bringing caravans onto the site and occupying the land to carry out construction projects – could be arrested by police. No arrests were necessary.”
East Herts District Council remains the lead authority and we will continue to work closely with them and our other partners to monitor the site and prevent further unauthorized works. Anyone concerned about further activity at the site can report it to police by calling 101.
Sawbridgeworth is the latest area to be targeted after large trucks arrived on Friday morning with fences up and roads blocked.
In videos posted on social media, birds were heard chirping as heavy machinery was being worked on green areas. It devastated residents who feared that travelers had taken over and destroyed the precious wetland habitat and floodplains.
The council issued a temporary stop notice requiring builders to halt further work on the site, but residents claimed the unauthorized work continued anyway.
A neighbor in her 50s who wished to remain anonymous has lived in the area all her life and told the Daily Mail she felt ‘powerless’ and ‘devastated’.
She said, “I believe it’s travelers building a traveler site. Some people don’t want them anywhere, and I think they have to go through all the steps that everyone else has to go through when it comes to planning and building.
‘They have absolutely no permission. The order has been ignored and they have continued to bring in excavators and all kinds of machinery.”
Protesters lined the road as vans and excavators left a field in Sawbridgeworth, East Hertfordshire this morning
Aerial photos show that since the land grab on Friday, a paved surface, a concrete surface, has already been laid and fences have been erected to create five plots
In videos posted on social media, birds can be heard chirping as heavy machinery is being used on green areas
The resident added that she and her neighbors are especially saddened by the destroyed habitats of the protected wildlife, including bats, salamanders and nesting birds.
She said: “The reserve has existed for as long as we have lived and was destroyed in a day. It’s a total destruction of nature, it’s absolutely disgusting.
“There’s a lady who lives across the road and she’s in tears. We are completely shocked by the destruction; It’s devastating to be so powerless in the situation.
“It’s a public holiday and no one has a chance to stop this before it’s too late, so they have four days to destroy habitat.”
It follows a trend of travelers buying land, often in leafy parts of the Home Counties, and then setting up unauthorized sites.
A concerned neighbor expressed his dismay over the irreparable damage to wildlife and the inaction of authorities over the long weekend.
She said: ‘Heavy machinery and excavators started bulldozing a beautiful wetland next to our village lock. The area is an important habitat for birds and other wildlife, and is now rapidly being dug up and covered in large amounts of hardcore.
‘East Herts Council has issued a temporary stop notice. However, despite this message, the machines and vehicles continue to operate on site and more material is being delivered.’
They added: ‘We are extremely concerned that by the time the relevant authorities are able to take effective action, this precious wetland and its wildlife habitat will be irreversibly damaged.
“This is not just a planning dispute. It is currently an ecological emergency, with heavy machinery actively destroying wildlife habitat.”
Neighbors staged a peaceful protest on the property Sunday morning to express their frustration.
Another resident also told the Daily Mail: ‘Many, many residents are distraught, dismayed and feel very let down by the laws regarding this kind of destruction of wildlife habitat next to a beautiful picturesque lock in a beautiful historic town.’
It is the latest ‘bank holiday land grab’ to take place after building work suddenly started on a green plot of land in Irby, Merseyside.
Three caravans, two excavators, two cars and a van have been seen on the land, which is just meters from residents’ homes.
According to Wirral Council’s planning portal, no planning application has been submitted for works to be completed on the site.
Some locals believe they are travelers who bought the land and are carrying out the illegal work.
One resident said she and her neighbors were saddened by the destruction of habitat for protected wildlife, including bats, salamanders and breeding birds.
Neighbors staged a peaceful protest on Sunday morning to express their frustration, with many staying overnight
The council issued a temporary stop notice requiring further work at the site to cease, but the order was ignored
Last week, travelers who took an entire village hostage for £600,000 in a land grab fraud applied to officially host caravans on the site after their ‘blackmail attempt’ failed.
The family bought a greenfield site, the size of a tennis court, just outside the Buckinghamshire village of Dinton in February – and immediately drove onto the site with three caravans and a static caravan.
In a carefully orchestrated operation, excavators and trucks moved onto a quarter-acre plot to lay hardened rubble and place caravans in the designated conservation area.
Shocked villagers protesting what they call an illegal land grab say they were approached by two men who said if they wanted them to leave the area they could buy back the land for more than £600,000 – 40 times the £15,000 they would have paid for it.
With the 800 people living in Dinton refusing to meet the travellers’ demands, family patriarch Jimmy Doran has officially applied to the council to make it a permanent residence.
