Furious locals descend on council HQ after travellers bulldozed beloved beauty spot over Bank Holiday FOUR months ago

FURIOUS locals have descended on a council headquarters after travellers bulldozed a beloved beauty spot over the Easter Bank Holiday. Disgruntled residents turned up at their local authority yesterday to protest against the unauthorised site which was described as a “land grab” four months ago. Angry residents living next to an illegal traveller site at Willows Green gathered outside Uttlesford District council’s office yesterday Credit: JOHN McLELLAN The traveller site appeared over the over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend in the village four months ago Credit: SWNS Residents living in Willows Green, near Felsted in Essex, had watched on in horror as a fleet of 30 lorries descended on a four-acre field on May 1. The convoy arrived just hours after local government offices had closed for the long weekend to lay down hard-standing ground. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Aggrieved neighbours have now described the ongoing lack of official enforcement as deeply embarrassing. Four months after a cherished countryside spot was bulldozed, campaigners gathered at Uttlesford District Council’s to declare that enough was enough. A High Court injunction was successfully put in place during June to halt the work. But the controversy has deepened as the occupiers have formally submitted a retrospective planning application to install 12 mobile homes. However, neighbours insist that physical development on the plot has continued regardless. Frustrated homeowners are now demanding that their local council take more robust action to resolve the impasse. Most read in The Sun The development was halted by a stop notice but the travellers have submitted retrospective planning application Credit: JOHN McLELLAN Frustrated homeowners are now demanding that their local council take more robust action Credit: James Linsell Clark / SWNS A spokesperson for the Willows Green Action Group explained that residents had spent four months watching an illegal site become established while officials failed to act. The campaign group noted that the district authority appeared unwilling to enforce the powers granted by its own legal orders. They added that the ongoing absence of meaningful action and accountability remained deeply embarrassing for Uttlesford District Council. Locals had painstakingly gathered evidence, reported suspected breaches, and repeatedly begged for direct official intervention. Despite these efforts, the surrounding community was still left waiting for any form of meaningful resolution. The action group stated that the public demonstration was staged to prove that planning rules must apply equally to all citizens. They insisted court orders had to be respected and called on the council to publicly explain its actions and timeline for future enforcement. The escalation comes as Jonathan Ash-Edwards, the Police and Crime Commissioner for neighbouring Hertfordshire, argued that officers required emergency powers to immediately halt instances of serious unauthorised development. He said: “If someone knowingly waits for a Bank Holiday, arrives with heavy machinery and carries out rapid, substantial works specifically to get ahead of enforcement, I believe that should become a criminal offence. “The principle is straightforward, nobody should be able to game the planning system by ripping up our countryside first and asking for permission later.” Uttlesford District Council confirmed the retrospective planning application was validated on August 26 to change the site’s use for 12 traveller pitches. The formal request encompasses mobile homes, touring caravans, day rooms, access roads, utility infrastructure, and surrounding landscaping. The contested plot had previously served as a rich natural habitat, home to protected great-crested newts and rare albino fallow deer. But initial unauthorised engineering works took place across the Early May Bank Holiday weekend between May 1 and May 4. Nearby families reported extensive groundworks, the laying of hardstanding, and the swift arrival of caravans on land with no residential approval. Council officers initially responded by serving a Temporary Stop Notice on May 5, which officially took effect the following morning. The local authority then secured an interim High Court injunction on May 7 to prohibit further physical works and residential occupation. While that legal injunction was made permanent in June, frustrated residents maintain that actual development and occupation never stopped. Despite neighbours repeatedly submitting fresh evidence and raising legal concerns, no enforcement has yet brought the unauthorised use to an end. Uttlesford District Council were contacted for comment.