Travellers who flattened woodland and paved over it win right to stay on site forever as council say they are powerless to intervene

Hertsmere Council says it will close its enforcement case over a cleared woodland site near St Albans, citing changes to national planning policy. The decision has angered nearby residents, who say the land is being used by people other than the family whose needs were central to a temporary permission granted in 2024.

The Planning Inspectorate allowed the family to stay for five years, until 2029, and required the woodland to be restored by then. Residents say the family has not been seen at the site, whose gates are chained, and that single men appear to be acting as caretakers. The council says national policy changes mean it is unlikely that restrictions limiting permission to named people or a fixed period would meet planning-condition tests.