Hertsmere Council has stopped enforcement actions against a traveller site near St Albans, citing national policy changes. Local residents claim the occupants secured temporary permission throuugh deception, leaving green belt land paved and wooded areas destroyed.
How national policy shifts paralyzed Hertsmere Council's enforcement
Hertsmere Council recently informed residents near Bridgefoot Cottages that it can no longer take legal action against the occupants of a disputed woodland site. According to the report, the council's enforcement team stated that recent changes to national planning policy have stripped local authorities of the power to intervene when the Government's Planning Inspectorate has already granted temporary permissions.
An enforcement officer from Hertsmere Council explained that the government has significantly diluted the requirements to restrict planning permissions to specific individuals or limited timeframes. Because these conditions no longer need to meet strict "condition tests" under the current national framework, Hertsmere Council determined it lacks the legal standing to challenge the occupation, even if the original terms of the permission were breached.
The disputed presence of Theresa Lane and her children
The legal right to occupy the land was largely based on an appeal by Theresa Lane, who claimed she and her five children required a settled base. A central part of this argument involved an eleven-year-old child with Down's Syndrome who was questioned by officials during a Planning Inspectorate hearing to establish the need for proximity to a specialist school. As reported, this evidence helped secure temporary permission for the family to remain on the site until 2029.
However, local residents allege that the family presented during the hearing has not been seen at the site in the two years following the decision. Neighbors claim that the gates remain chained and that the only inhabitants are single men who they suspect are caretakers. This discrepancy raises a critical open question: did the Planning Inspectorate rely on a fraudulent representation of residency, and if so, is there a mechanism to revoke permission based on the absence of the named applicants?
From a £39,000 purchase to green belt paving
The financial trajectory of the site suggests a pattern of aggressive land alteration. the plot was purchased in 2021 by Patrick Sweeney, the brother of Theresa Lane, for just £39,000. Shortly after travellers arrived in 2022, the site underwent a drastic transformation; a thick layer of trees was felled and the green belt land was surfaced with an aggregate material similar to tarmac.
This environmental degradation was accompanied by what residents describe as a campaign of intimidation. Some neighbors reported being approached in their own gardens by aggressive men working on the site. in a stark contrast to the original purchase price, one resident was reportedly approached with an offer to buy their adjacent land for £450,000,suggesting a significant escalation in the perceived value or strategic importance of the land holdings in that area.
The 2029 deadline for woodland restoration
Under the terms granted by the Planning Inspectorate, the occupants are required to restore the woodland by 2029. Residents had previously appealed to Hertsmere Council's enforcement team, arguing that the paving of the land constituted a direct breach of this restoration condition.. Despite these concerns, the council has now concluded its involvement, leaving the residents to wait five years to see if the land is ever returned to its natural state.
The situation leaves several points unverified. While residents claim the family of Theresa Lane is entirely absent, the report does not include a response from Ms. Lane or Patrick Sweeney regarding these allegations. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether the Planning Inspectorate will monitor the 2029 restoration deadline or if the responsibility for ensuring the woodland is replanted falls solely on a Hertsmere Council that has already admitted its powers are limited.
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