Unauthorised traveller camp must be cleared of caravans after appeal dismissed

An unauthorised traveller camp in Staffordshire must now be cleared after an appeal was dismissed.

The Planning Inspectorate has backed an enforcement notice for the Woodhouses Road site in Burntwood, which Lichfield District Council first served on May 22.

The notice related to an unauthorised development on the land, where multiple breaches of planning control had been identified.

Two men, David Price and Kevin Clee, had appealed against the council's enforcement action

Their bid to overturn the notice failed, with the inspectorate's ruling confirming that the council was right to act against the site, which had been established without planning permission.

Under the terms of the enforcement notice, those living on the site are required to cease all use of the land as a gypsy and traveller encampment.

They must remove all caravans and residential belongings, along with unauthorised connections to water and electricity supplies.

The occupants must also dig out and dispose of both a hard-surfaced area and a septic tank installed without permission.

Beyond removing these structures and utilities, the notice requires clearing all waste from the land and not bringing any further materials onto it.

The ultimate objective is to fully restore the site to its previous condition, returning the land to the state it was in before the unauthorised works took place.

The enforcement action followed several planning control violations on the site, which sits within designated Green Belt.

In reaching the decision, the inspector placed considerable weight on the damage the development had caused to the Green Belt, particularly its impact on the openness of the protected landscape.

The deliberate nature of the unauthorised works was also a significant factor in the ruling, with the inspector noting that the development had been carried out intentionally without the necessary approvals.

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Crucially, the inspectorate concluded that no "very special circumstances" existed to outweigh the harm to the Green Belt or justify allowing the development to remain in place.

Green Belt designations are intended to prevent urban sprawl and preserve open countryside, and planning policy sets a high bar for any development on such land.

The inspector found that the appellants failed to demonstrate their case met this threshold, leaving the council's original enforcement notice intact.

Lichfield District Council expressed satisfaction with the outcome but voiced frustration that the compliance deadline had been extended from the original five months to a full year.

Despite this extension, the authority stressed its determination to dismantle the unauthorised development and restore the land as soon as possible.

Councillor Richard Cox, Cabinet Member for Community and Public Protection at Lichfield District Council, welcomed the decision.

The Conservative Councillor for the Armitage with Handsacre ward said: "Residents were understandably very concerned about unauthorised development on the land off Woodhouses Road earlier this year.

"Our officers undertook a lot of work to ensure we could robustly defend the appeal against the enforcement notice. This careful work has led to the correct result.

"I am pleased that the Planning Inspectorate dismissed the appeal. Lichfield District Council will not tolerate unauthorised development anywhere in the district."