A vast traveller site, constructed in a rapid "land grab" on protected green belt fields in Essex, has been ordered to be demolished by authorities. Families occupying the site near Romford have been given four months to leave and dismantle the development.
The fields, located in Noak Hill, remained untouched until Friday, November 28 last year, when council officials were preparing to leave for the weekend. Within two and a half hours, the grassland was transformed into a construction site, with diggers and workers undertaking a significant earth-moving operation under floodlights. By Saturday morning, convoys of lorries were delivering building materials, and the countryside was being carved into residential plots with hardstanding, fences, and utility connections being installed.
This tactic of rapid development over a weekend was intended to present the council with a "done deal" upon their return to work on Monday. Planning inspector Grahame Kean described the project as a "disciplined rapid unauthorised development," noting that it was clearly planned to be ready for occupation before the local council could secure stop notices or court injunctions.
The land was purchased in May 2025 by a company called High Top Roofs and Gutters Limited and subsequently subdivided among several Irish Traveller families. Frank Mongan, Thomas Mongan, and James and Joseph McDonagh acquired plots for pitches.
Four days after the weekend construction began, Havering Council issued enforcement and stop notices. The leader of Havering Council, Ray Morgon, expressed disappointment and shock at the unauthorized work on the protected green belt. Despite the notices, served in the presence of police, the development continued.
When the Planning Inspectorate visited the site in May, the inspector found that the former paddock had been "unlawfully and deliberately" transformed. It contained 29 pitches with static vans and tourers, surrounded by hardstanding. The inspector noted significant hazards on site, including mounds of earth, uneven surfaces, rubble, pooling water, and exposed pipes and cables. The site was described as being "very much a development that is still in progress."
Havering Council rejected retrospective planning applications to legalize the site. The Planning Inspectorate has now dismissed appeals against the council's enforcement notices, ordering the removal of the compound and restoration of the green belt.
Mr. Kean concluded that the scale of the unauthorized development was substantial and caused significant harm to the openness of the green belt. The field, previously used for grazing with public footpaths, had been extensively altered. The inspector also noted the potential impact on protected species, such as great crested newts, due to the rapid excavation and covering of the land, making ecological surveys impossible beforehand.
The government's policy treats intentional unauthorized development as a serious consideration to discourage building first and seeking permission later. Mr. Kean stated that the Noak Hill case exemplified the conduct this policy aims to prevent, highlighting the coordinated and "flagrant" timing of the works over a weekend, which continued despite refusals and stop notices.