Travellers buy ‘£3m site’ for £3,000 and cause havoc next to posh village

Wealthy neighbours have objected to the arrival of travellers who set up camp in a Hertfordshire village and fear they are building on the land without planning permission.

One hundred travellers bought the site in Little Hadham for £3,000, but locals claim the plot of land would be worth £3 million if it were to be developed.

More than 200 residents of the plush village have complained about the travellers and are worried they are building permanent homes on the site.

The group of travellers fenced off part of the land for 20 caravans without getting planning permission.

Despite a council injunction, building materials continued to arrive at the site.

Locals have criticised their loud partying and daily rubbish fires since the caravans arrived on Good Friday.

Director of Forge Homes Residential Sales and Lettings, Adam Lake, said: “If the plot of land had planning permission, we would be able to sell it to build between six to eight homes so it would be worth around £3 million.”

One local estate agent told Yahoo News: “The travellers have been unruly and aggressive since they arrived, they only understand aggression.”

Photos from aerial footage show the greenfield site which wealthy villagers fear is being built on by travellers without any planning permission.

One man living in the village said: “This is a lovely village and we are all waiting to see what is going to happen.

“You’ve got some wealthy people living around here. There are barristers galore, solicitors, business people, retired farmers and accountants, successful people in IT and television and medicine, so what happened over Easter was a real shock.

“I should think a lot of people are worried about property prices dropping at the moment.”

East Hertfordshire Council have said: “Our officers issued a stop notice to prevent any further work from taking place.

“On Saturday (20/4) we instructed a barrister to obtain a high court mandatory injunction because the unauthorised work had not stopped.

“The injunction was granted and served on site the same day.

“Unfortunately, the defendants have not complied with the terms of the injunction.

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“The council is doing everything it can, through the correct legal procedures, to try and stop unauthorised works taking place.

“We will continue work to get the situation resolved.”

Another resident in Little Hadham said: “What’s the council doing? Everyone’s really worried about what’s going on.

“I want to see them and the police do something. It’s a slap in the face.

“We pay so much council tax and they are breaking the law. Yet if we want to do anything, we have to jump through hoops with planning. It’s a joke.”

Various successful people such as CEOs and lawyers live in the leafy village, which include the former England professional footballer Matthew Upson.