Labour ministers accused of 'burying their heads in the sand' over explosion of illegal traveller sites blighting the countryside

Labour ministers have been accused of 'burying their heads in the sand' over an explosion of illegal traveller sites across England The Conservatives hit out in the wake of figures released earlier this month that showed the number of caravans being pitched on unauthorised sites hit a record level this year.The alarm has been raised at a new tactic being used to ensure these pitches are allowed to remain in place despite breaking the rules.Across Middle England, gangs have been turning up at weekends and on bank holidays to tarmac over fields they have bought, knowing that the local council's planning office is closed and they are unlikely to be disturbed.They then seek retrospective planning permission for the location, often one designated as a greenfield site, once it has been concreted over.It comes in the wake of a 2024 High Court ruling that quashed an attempt to clamp down on unauthorised sites because it would breach European human rights laws. The government has also axed stand-alone rules governing the siting of traveller sites, incorporating it into the National Planning Policy Framework (NPFP). The Tories accused Labour of washing its hands of the problem, with housing minister Matthew Pennycook repeatedly saying it is an issue local councils must deal with themselves.They also said Labour's relaxing of planning rules to allow more homes to be built across England makes it harder to block sites from being set up. Shadow communities secretary James Cleverly said: 'Illegal traveller sites are soaring under Labour, yet Ministers have buried their heads in the sand. New sites include one in James Cleverly's own Essex constituency, which was built on over the May bank holiday weekend'They have ripped up protections for the countryside brought in by the Conservatives, without any idea what impact that will have. But everyone else knows it means more illegal camps set up at weekends and bank holidays when the authorities aren't watching. 'Labour's soft-touch approach is a disaster. Only the Conservatives have a robust plan to leave the ECHR so we can protect communities and end the two-tier approach to traveller lawbreaking.' Earlier this month official figures showed that the number of caravans parked without planning permission rose by 23 per cent in the year to January and now account for almost a fifth (17 per cent) of all encampments.The number of residential vehicles parked on land not owned by travellers also rose by 81 per cent, while the overall total number of caravans in England has also passed 29,000, the most documented since records began in 1979.The High Court in 2024 blocked legislation passed by the Conservative government in 2022 to give police the power to ban travellers from an area for up to 12 months.Judges found the law discriminatory because it was incompatible with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) as it would disproportionately affect travellers and was found to be discriminatory.This year a Labour amendment to the Crime and Policing Act reduced it to three months, in a move the charity Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) said was 'a major win for gypsy and traveller communities'.Sites include one in Mr Cleverly's own Essex constituency, which was built on over the May bank holiday weekend.The group put up a 'rapid' site near Braintree, Essex, for 12 families and retroactively applied for planning permission, the High Court was told last month.Uttlesford District Council learned of the construction around the beginning of May and an injunction against occupation was first granted on May 7.Granting an injunction to close the site, Judge Mr Justice Ritchie described photos that had been given to the court as looking like a 'rapid-action, pitch-building operation with heavy machinery'.He also said it appeared to be a 'let's-do-it-quick-before-the-council-catches-us operation'.He added: 'There is no evidence that men, women or children were living, sleeping, eating, toileting or going to work at the site at that stage.' In answer to questions from the Conservatives, housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has admitted that the government has not looked at the impact of pitches being deliberately created when planning departments are closed, or how police and councils can work together to deal with it.'My Department has made no specific assessment of the potential implications for national policy of unauthorised traveller development taking place on weekends, including bank holiday weekends, when local authority planning departments are closed,' he said earlier this year.'The government expects local planning authorities to work proactively and collaboratively with other agencies to respond to unauthorised encampments and development.'At the same time the government has unveiled plans to collect less data about sites.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced it plans to make the official Count of Traveller Caravans a single annual event, instead of doing it twice a year as it does currently. A spokesman said it did 'not accept' the criticism of its position, but that it was up to councils to finds space for travellers.'Illegal sites and unauthorised encampments are completely unacceptable and the planning changes we're making will help to tackle them by ensuring councils must have a proper plan for traveller sites,' he said.'Local leaders should use the robust powers they already have including taking court action against illegal sites, and we are considering potential further action.'