An Irish traveller, Michael Delaney, 39, has been ordered to leave a seven-acre field near Crawley Down in Sussex after concreting over protected woodland to create an unauthorised caravan park he called his 'dream home'. He openly admitted during a planning appeal that he never sought planning permission, saying he knew from experience the process was 'painstakingly difficult'. The case matters because it highlights tensions over unlawful development on protected land and the challenge of enforcing planning rules.

The site, a habitat for legally protected great-crested newts, was covered in hardstanding and occupied by static homes from last August, with stop orders ignored. By the end of September it held six plots housing Mr Delaney and his extended family, including children, grandchildren, a nephew, a pregnant daughter-in-law and a newborn. Nearby residents told the parish council they felt 'nervous' about who was living close by. A Planning Inspectorate inspector, Paul Freer, branded the development 'blatant, contemptuous and egregious' and dismissed the appeal.