Villagers in the Surrey hamlet of Horne say they’re being pushed out of their own community by travellers who’ve set up at least six unauthorised camps without planning permission.
Locals claim they’re now outnumbered in their rural parish and are so desperate they’re considering using tractors to block roads and prevent more arrivals.
“We are literally being pushed out of our homes… we are now estimating that in one road with three of these sites, the travellers outnumber the locals now,” one resident told the Daily Mail.
The situation has become so tense that some villagers are talking about barricading travellers in, whilst others are thinking about selling up and leaving.
A council leader has warned the situation could spark “serious unrest” in the community.
Head of Tandridge District Council, Catherine Sayer, said she’d spent six out of seven recent weekends dealing with traveller site issues.
She described the unauthorised developments as causing “unhappiness and friction in the community.”
Fed up residents have formed the Horne Residents’ Association, with about 50 members who are funding their own legal battle against what they call “systemic abuse of the planning system.”
The group recently went to London’s High Court seeking an injunction against the newest arrivals, though the hearing was postponed until November.
Temporary stop notices have been served on developments, including Little Field Farm
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“This is not the end. It is the beginning of a very long battle, unfortunately,” a group spokeswoman said.
The newest camp appeared just a couple of weeks ago when travellers bulldozed into a recently bought field and started building what looks like a large caravan park.
According to the Mail, travellers have laid tarmac and are creating more than a dozen pitches.
Three camps sit within 300 feet of each other on Bones Lane alone.
There’s also sites in nearby New Chapel and Alfold, with around 14 camps of different sizes within two miles of Horne.
The hamlet had just 940 residents at the last census in 2021.
Locals say travellers typically target newly purchased land on Fridays or bank holidays, quickly developing it before councils can respond.
Things have got so bad that elderly women say they’re too scared to walk down the road after allegedly being approached by men in “balaclavas” at the Bones Lane camp over the weekend.
New Chapel has seen a number of travellers come to the village over the past few weeks
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“The little old ladies are saying they’re too scared to walk down the road… they are terrified and don’t want to leave their homes,” one neighbour said.
In Alfold, angry residents reportedly stood in front of construction lorries trying to stop them after greenbelt land was bulldozed for a new caravan park.
Friends, Family and Travellers says councils aren’t providing enough permanent sites for nomadic communities, leaving families “stuck in limbo” without access to basic services.