Surrey town becomes latest victim of traveller ‘land grab’: ‘Illegal’ site appears in middle of woodland after group brought in machinery and hacked down trees over Easter weekend

A town in Surrey has become the latest victim of travellers’ ‘land grab’ after woodland was cut down to set up camp on a quiet country road over the Easter weekend.

Residents in Burpham, Guildford, were left furious after seeing men in high-vis jackets installing a gate and fencing; In the drone footage, overgrowth and trees were replaced by hardwood trees.

It is understood travelers also engaged in ‘land grabbing’ in Sundridge, Kent and the village of Flamstead, Hertfordshire, over the Easter holiday weekend and thought council officials would be slow to react.

A business owner in Guildford, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed Burpham residents were concerned about the impact on wildlife, mostly as trees continued to disappear.

‘So far they’ve just made it a stable area, got rid of the trees and built walls around it,’ he said.

‘We have no details, no one really knows what happened. It all happened a bit suddenly, we are still trying to put the pieces together.

‘The clearing of trees is what upsets most people. It’s pretty bare there now. ‘Wildlife is of primary concern in Guildford.’

The neighborhood claimed that the travel group bought the land next to the industrial site a few months ago, but they did not have permission to build on it.

Photo of a caravan at the site on Clay Lane in Burpham this week

Residents were outraged to see men in high-vis jackets setting up a gate and fencing

Work is being carried out on land on Clay Lane in Burpham, Guildford

It was claimed that the traveler group bought the land near the industrial site a few months ago, but did not have permission to build on it.

He said residents were still holding out hope that Guildford Borough Council would step in, as he had said in previous attempts to settle nearby.

He added: ‘I think everyone is waiting to see if this is going to be permanent. There are only construction workers there right now. We are about five meters away from him.

‘I’ve spoken to a few of the construction guys but even they don’t know what it is or how permanent it will be. They say everything is seemingly legal.

‘Frankly, no one expects this. ‘We have already informed some of our neighbors across the council so they are now aware.’

One Facebook user added: ‘This will definitely be a traveler site and is all geared up for work over the Easter long weekend.’

Guildford Borough Council (GBC) said: ‘We are aware of work carried out at a site in Clay Lane, Burpham, at the weekend.

‘We are primarily investigating; City officials have visited the site and are completing background work to fully understand the situation.

‘This will inform our next steps.

‘We take all planning breaches extremely seriously. If a breach of planning control is confirmed in any area within the borough we have a range of enforcement options.

‘We need to follow the legal process, which may take time, but we remain committed to taking action and pursuing every enforcement avenue available to us.

‘As with any unauthorized development in the town, we will continue to follow the necessary legal processes to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.’

Councilor George Potter, representing Burpham, said: ‘Planning permission has not been granted for the development and SCC does not allow vehicle access to the motorway at this location.

‘GBC planning application will actively investigate this unauthorized development and will need to follow the normal legal process applicable to any unauthorized development.

‘Unauthorised development is a civil matter, not a criminal one, and legal enforcement can take a long time due to the lengthy legal process.

‘The development appears to be driven by the landowner and therefore has to follow the same process as if someone were building something in their backyard without permission.’

More than a dozen caravans were moved to another site in Surrey on Thursday as travelers transformed a rural area in the village of Alford into a 17-plot ‘gated community’.

Surrey residents reported thinking it was strange when they saw strangers measuring the width of the road on Wednesday, April 1.

But just a day later, the reason became clear as 30 to 40 bucket trucks containing pipes, wood, aggregates and steel arrived to form an entire community on the site.

Working around the clock over the Easter weekend, 21 caravans and five static houses were brought to site.

The battle the people of Surrey are facing now is the same in Kent and Hertfordshire, where there was a ‘land grab’ by travelers over the Easter weekend.

The site of a 17-lot community in Alford, Surrey, where travelers arrived last weekend

A total of 21 caravans and five static houses were brought to the site, which was quickly built over the bank holiday weekend.

Aerial view of new facility in Sundridge, Kent, featuring a static caravan, mobile home, smaller caravan and other vehicles

Residents of Sundridge, a rural stockbroker area of ​​Kent, have accused police of ‘aiding and abetting’ after a group of travelers turned up paving a field and blocking a village road until 4am on the Easter weekend.

The family descended on Sundridge under cover of darkness on Friday to transform the green space into a sturdy trailer site using diggers and machinery.

But their plans came to a temporary halt on Sunday when a three-bedroom static caravan loaded onto a lorry became stuck on the village’s main lane, infuriating locals who were unable to get through.

Angry residents called the police and set out to prevent any vehicles from entering the site; this led to the arrest of a local man.

Meanwhile, in a beautiful spot in the village of Flamstead in Hertfordshire, angry residents have had their village ‘invaded’ by wandering families who have set up camp, tearing up the land with bulldozers and diggers.

A few days later, on Easter Sunday morning, while council officials were off for the bank holiday weekend, the first group of caravans followed suit.

The group laid huge squares of concrete in an Area of ​​Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), surrounded by rolling hills and woodland.

It is understood travelers started the land grab over the Bank Holiday weekend in the hope that council bosses would be slow to react.