Council orders halt to alleged unauthorised caravan site in Essex

Uttlesford District Council ordered all work to stop on land near Willows Green, in Felsted, after an alleged unauthorised caravan site sprang up over the bank holiday weekend and appeared to exploit the moment its offices were shut.

Works reportedly began late on Friday evening, after the council closed for the holiday period. Local reporting said the field was quickly concreted over, covered with hardcore and then occupied by caravans, while about 30 cars, vans and machines were seen on site. Nearby residents said the pace of the build left them feeling intimidated, stressed and unable to sleep.

The dispute has sharpened the rule-of-law question at the centre of many contested land cases: what planning rules were breached, and how much enforcement power does a council actually have once a site is in place? Uttlesford said on May 5 that it was aware of the alleged unauthorised development and that officers were working at pace to assess the activity and gather evidence before considering the full range of enforcement options available.

The council’s own planning policy says it enforces planning control in the public interest and can serve enforcement notices when expedient, as well as take court action against offenders, including criminal prosecution and High Court injunctions. In practice, that means the authority can act quickly to start the process, but it still has to build evidence and decide whether formal action is proportionate before moving to court.

James Cleverly, the MP for Braintree, described the development as “exploitation” and “a deliberate tactic”, and wrote to the Housing Secretary demanding answers about what he says is a growing national enforcement problem and a gap in weekend and bank holiday coverage. His intervention has pushed the case beyond a local planning row into a wider argument over whether councils have the same practical power to police unauthorised development every day of the week.

The site also sits within a more complicated planning backdrop. Uttlesford’s latest Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment, completed in December 2024, says the district has identified a need for permanent pitches through 2041. A December 2025 land-supply statement says the government updated the planning definition of a Gypsy and Traveller in December 2024.

Local reporting said the land was sold for £125,000 about a year earlier and is associated with protected great crested newts and a wildlife haven. For Uttlesford, the immediate test is whether its enforcement powers can move fast enough to match the speed of the build, and whether those powers are applied consistently when land disputes turn contentious.