RESIDENTS are furious after travellers dug up an entire hillside to move their caravans in without any planning permission.
Villagers are in fear of a landslip after tonnes of earth were excavated from a hill in Nantyglo, Gwent, seemingly without safety precautions.
The travelling group recently bought the land, but didn’t seek any planning permission for the site.
The owners have since been served with a second High Court injunction after the first temporary legal order halted the work.
They were ordered to stop any further development without planning permission and can no longer bring caravans to the site.
Blaenau Gwent Council said: “Land development had taken place in the absence of planning permission.”
The injunction, obtained by the Council, outlined that the landowners shall not:
- Carry out or cause to be carried out on the Land any engineering works or acts of development without the prior grant of planning permission, including in the form of the erection of any building or other structure or by way of material change of use.
- Bring onto the Land any touring caravan, mobile home, or any other moveable structure save the six touring caravans stationed on the land at the date of this interim injunction.
The spokesperson for the Blaenau Gwent Council added: “The Interim High Court Injunction also stated that other than the landowners no person shall reside in or take up occupation (including by staying overnight) of any of the touring caravans permitted to be retained on the land.
The injunction highlighted that the landowners must “cease to occupy, live and/or sleep or cause or permit any person to occupy, live and/or sleep in any touring caravan, mobile home or any other moveable structure on the land”.
The order will remain in place until a full court hearing.
A fundraising page reportedly launched by one of the travellers said the work was being done as the “council is not providing us with the right needs”.
They added: “We are doing our own property up which we are entitled to do.”
Yvonne Bell, 55, who launched the petition, said: “I informed the council this was happening last week and that I was worried it would happen during the Easter weekend while the offices were closed.
“We’ve been in touch with a number of different departments and people because we genuinely believe this work has begun without proper planning permission.
“We know this because we’ve been told it’s not safe by the council.
“Some of the more elderly residents around here are terrified of what’s happening – they don’t feel able to even open their curtains at the moment.
“That’s just not fair on any of us – we refuse to live in fear.”
Anna, another local, said she had been threatened over her views regarding the work.
“There have been no safety measures and a lot of ground has been taken away, which supports the very busy road above,” she added.
“It’s a very scary time for the residents and there have been comments circulating on social media about hoping the houses have good insurance.”
More than 600 people have already signed the petition against the work being done on land close to Porters Road and Banna Bunglalows in the town.
Pictures show a large area of hillside has been flattened and around six caravans and a digger moved onto the site.
Land registry documents show there is a covenant on the land which states the land can only be used for grazing.
It comes after locals blasted a historic horse fair as “unnecessary” and “shameful” after streets were left strewn with rubbish.
And hundreds of furious protestors became locked in a stand-off with travellers after they pitched up in a local park and refused to move.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
