Retrospective bid seeks 12 mobile homes on Essex field
Travellers who bulldozed a wildlife-rich field in Willows Green, Essex, in what residents branded a "Bank Holiday land grab" have now applied for retrospective planning permission to install 12 mobile homes on the site. The group moved in with around 30 vehicles and heavy machinery on 1 May, hours after the local council closed for the long weekend, sparking outrage among nearby residents and prompting a High Court injunction to halt further work. The case has become a flashpoint in a wider debate over planning enforcement, with critics accusing travellers of exploiting bank holidays to carry out unauthorised work before seeking approval after the fact.
The retrospective application, made more than three months after the initial works, covers mobile homes, touring caravans, day rooms, access roads, utilities and landscaping on land near Felsted bought for £150,000 by Edward Myles Anthony Connors. Local Tory MP James Cleverly condemned the "build now, apply later" approach, while Uttlesford District Council said the application does not affect enforcement of the existing injunction. Residents, some of whom say they have been threatened, argue the situation reflects a broader loophole, noting that while roughly 90% of traveller site planning applications are initially refused, about 40% or more succeed when submitted retrospectively.
- Travellers face backlash after bulldozing an Essex beauty spot on a bank holiday
- Group now seeks retrospective permission for 12 mobile homes on the site
- Case highlights wider concerns over "build now, apply later" planning tactics
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Travellers moved onto a field in Willows Green, near Felsted in Essex, on 1 May, bringing in vehicles and machinery shortly after the local council had shut for the bank holiday weekend. Nearby residents say the land, which had wildlife value, was cleared without permission, and the local authority later obtained a High Court injunction to stop further work while the legal position was sorted out.
Months on, the person who bought the land, Edward Myles Anthony Connors, has submitted a planning application asking the council to approve, after the fact, what has already been built: 12 mobile homes along with touring caravans, day rooms, roads and utilities. This kind of "retrospective" application, made once work is already done rather than beforehand, is a recognised but contested route through the planning system, and is separate from the ongoing injunction covering the earlier unauthorised works.
The case matters because it touches on a long-running debate about how planning rules apply to traveller sites, including concerns raised by residents and some politicians, such as local MP James Cleverly, that retrospective bids can succeed even when upfront applications for similar sites are usually turned down. Uttlesford District Council will now have to decide the application on its planning merits, a decision that is being watched closely given the wider disagreement over how such cases should be handled.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Travellers who bulldozed beauty spot in ‘Bank Holiday land grab’ risk fresh showdown with locals after applying for retrospective planning permission to set up 12 mobile homes”.