Residents of an affluent Hampshire village are furious after travellers allegedly transformed a meadow into a concrete site without authorisation over the late May bank holiday weekend.
Locals in Wivelrod, where average property prices reach £2.3million, claim the group deliberately timed the work to coincide with the holiday period when council staff were unavailable.
According to villagers, approximately 20 lorries and 40 workers arrived on Friday, May 22, with machinery heard “rumbling” and “beeping” from around 5pm.
The operation continued through the night, with residents reporting that hardcore was dumped across the agricultural land, six septic tanks were installed, and the field was concreted over before caravans were moved onto the site.
Despite immediate reports to both the council and police, the construction work proceeded uninterrupted.
Local artist Susie Greenwood, 64, expressed her exasperation at the situation. “There seems to be nothing we can do about it. Law-abiding people can’t change the colour of their paint,” she said. “It sends a bad message. We start to think ‘well, we will just do it what will the council do about it?'”
She described the agricultural land as having been “dug up and ripped apart” with no enforcement action taken.
“I’m more annoyed with the council. They don’t do anything so what’s the point in paying taxes?” Ms Greenwood added.
Houses in the local area are said to be valued in excess of £2million
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Alan Milne, a retired villager in his sixties, called the incident “a bloody outrage” and described witnessing lorries travelling along the road with heavy machinery excavating the site.
“You could hear the beeping of the lorries because it’s a quiet area,” he said.
The traveller group had previously attempted to secure planning permission for the site in 2019 after purchasing the field near the village, but their application was rejected.
When the decision was appealed and taken to the High Court, concerned residents collectively funded legal representation, spending thousands of pounds on barristers to oppose the development.
East Hampshire District Council has blamed the legal system for the lack of response
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One lifelong village resident described the meadow as having been home to abundant wildlife, now lost forever beneath the concrete.
An anonymous member of the traveller community defended their actions, stating they had initially pursued the proper legal channels. “That’s all available to see online,” they said. “But we still got refused. After living on the roads for years, what else can we do?”
Villagers now fear retrospective planning permission may be granted for the site.
East Hampshire District Council acknowledged residents’ frustration while highlighting the limitations it faces in responding to such incidents.
“EHDC is doing everything in its power to tackle unauthorised development of this kind, however we, and every district council in the UK, are constrained by the ponderous legal system we must operate in,” a spokesman said.
The council emphasised that while legal procedures exist for valid reasons and due process remains essential, these requirements significantly restrict how quickly authorities can respond.
“That can lead to frustration among residents and among officers who treat these issues as a matter of urgency,” the spokesman added, reaffirming the council’s commitment to protecting the countryside from unauthorised development.
The incident follows similar disputes elsewhere, including travellers occupying a cricket ground in Clayton earlier in May.