Hertsmere Council has stated it is powerless to intervene in a dispute over a woodland site near St Albans, Hertfordshire, after travelers who flattened and paved over the area were granted temporary permission to stay. Residents have expressed dismay, reporting that changes to national planning policy have left the council unable to take further action.
The Planning Inspectorate granted the travelers five years of temporary permission to occupy the land in 2024, two years after they arrived and cleared a dense area of woodland bordering Bridgefoot Cottages. The appeal for temporary permission was reportedly based on the claim that a mother, Theresa Lane, and her five children required a settled home. An 11-year-old child with Down's syndrome was presented at the hearing, with arguments made that the child needed to live near a specialist school.
However, residents claim the family has not been seen at the site since the hearing, with gates remaining chained and only single men reportedly present as caretakers. The temporary permission stipulated that only Ms. Lane's family could reside on the site and required the restoration of the woodland by 2029. When residents believed this condition had been breached, they approached the council's enforcement team.
In a letter shared with residents, Hertsmere's enforcement team indicated the case would be closed. The letter stated that recent changes to national policy have weakened requirements for restricting planning permissions to specific individuals or temporary durations. "It is unlikely that conditions restricting (planning) permission to temporary or personal planning permissions would meet the condition tests, as changes to national policy mean that the need to restrict this development to being a personal and temporary permission is no longer required," the letter explained.
Residents described the situation as "devastating" and "upsetting," with one calling their efforts to contest the alleged breach "an absolute waste of my time" and deeming the rules "not fit for purpose." Concerns had previously been raised about the connection between the child presented at the hearing and the traveler family, with one resident alleging the child appeared to be ignored by the applicant's party.
The land was purchased by Patrick Sweeney, Theresa Lane's brother, in 2021 for £39,000. In 2022, shortly after the travelers were granted temporary permission for a small camp, vans arrived to cover the entire site with an aggregate material resembling tarmac. A static caravan was subsequently placed on the site, with images showing children's play equipment near the caravan, separated by a small fence from neighboring properties where children reside.
Neighbors also reported significant increases in their water bills, with charges quadrupling within months. They believe the travelers had connected to the shared water main serving the 200-year-old cottages. Additionally, blue pipes were installed on the site, apparently for connection to septic tanks, despite the temporary permission limiting occupation to a single mobile home and a touring caravan.
An earlier planning application by the travelers sought permission for two touring caravans and two static homes. This application referenced the site as 'grey belt,' a designation introduced under a policy that eased building rules on "poor quality" green belt land. The site, however, had reportedly been green belt for at least 45 years and was previously described as a "beautiful haven for birds and wildlife."
A spokesperson for the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government stated that local planning authorities possess a broad range of enforcement powers and that it is for them to determine appropriate action. Hertsmere Council confirmed that changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, following the introduction of 'grey belt' in December 2025 revisions, influenced their position. The council noted that an application for planning permission to allow permanent occupation by anyone meeting the definition had been submitted and provisionally recommended for approval, but a final decision had not yet been issued.
