Homeowners living next to Essex greenfield site that travellers tarmacked in a two-hour weekend 'land grab' tell of their fury as the culprits are allowed to live there a whole YEAR

Published: 10:59, 5 July 2026 | Updated: 11:02, 5 July 2026 Homeowners living next to a greenfield site that was tarmacked over in a two-hour 'land grab' by travellers have told of their fury at learning that those behind it will be allowed to live there a whole year. The grassland near Romford, Essex, was taken over in November in a 'carefully planned stealth operation', which deployed convoys of trucks and laid down tarmac over the ground for caravans to move on to. And it emerged this week that those behind the illegal move will be allowed four months to find somewhere else to go – meaning the whole saga will have lasted 12 months, if the new order is even enforced. Residents in once leafy Noak Hill said they were relieved an appeal against the planned council intervention was dismissed – but were livid that those living there won't be evicted immediately. Father-of-two Shaun Carr, 56, says unless more decisive action is taken in future, the green belt land in the area risks being turned into a 'concrete jungle'. He told the Daily Mail: 'The red-tape that prevents action being taken makes the authorities weak and ineffectual. It is abused by these opportunists. 'It's green belt land. The purpose of that is to stop urban developments from endlessly expanding. 'Then you get a huge illegal operation turn up and change the site into a kind of self-governing town. The grassland near Romford in Essex was taken over in November in a lightening fast weekend move by convoys of trucks and caravans The 'carefully planned stealth operation' saw the site covered in tarmac overnight as caravans moved in Father-of-two Shaun Carr, 56, (pictured), who lives near the site, says unless more decisive action is taken in future, the green belt land in the area risks being turned into a 'concrete jungle' 'How it wasn't stopped beggars belief.' He added: 'It's about time the council listened to local people. 'There has been an uptick in fly tipping. It is everywhere now. You can see layers of it by the roadside – there's even caravans dumped there. 'The antisocial behaviour is also rife. We've seen more fights, threats to local people and things going missing. There is no accountability at all. 'I'm delighted to hear action will be taken, but let's see if anything actually changes. I wouldn't hold my breath – it feels like things are getting worse. 'There have been travellers' sites dotted around the area for years. Some of them get on well with locals, but there's always a risk with a surge of new people moving into the area. 'It is almost at a breaking point now – with a lot more speeding cars on the roads – and loads more petty crime.' Mr Carr, who works in construction, added: 'Our only concern now is the state it will be left in once they have gone. Sadly the area is slowly being turned into a concrete jungle. 'I fear this isn't going to be the end of it.' The impact of the 'caravan town' is clearly felt around the local area – with many people placing CCTV cameras on their properties. Grandfather Dale Jones, 65, told of a harrowing campaign of abuse by travellers at the site, which he claims resulted in him being shot in the head by a catapult. He also says youths from the site smashed the windows of his luxury car, harassed his daughter and bully local business owners. Mr Jones said: 'This new site has been the final straw for me. I'm going to move and it's because of them. They have ruined it around here. 'It's just constant fly tipping and speeding. I've been round here since 1985 and it was never like that here. Those behind the illegal move will be given four months to find somewhere else to go  Residents have complained of constant fly tipping while an abandoned caravan sits on the road  Empty drink cans are scattered across the floor and long-time residents say they are being forced to move out because of the travellers 'There's an abandoned ice cream van down there. There's rubbish everywhere. 'Me and my mate went out last night and we caught a van chucking rubbish out of the side. We made them put it back in. 'The other night someone hit my car, it was about 12.30am. A white transit van, and he just drove off. I phoned the police and they didn't seem bothered. It's cost me £750 to get repaired. 'I've had my windows catapulted with ball bearings. It's just kids doing it for a jolly. But we have to deal with the consequences. 'They've done the back window on my other car. And my daughter won't even walk down that way [to the camp]. 'I cycle all around there and it was never like this. I was going really slowly on the phone to my son and I felt a crack in the side of my head from a catapult. 'Ironically, the phone was there to protect me.' Mr Jones, who works in the automobile industry, said he doubts the bid to remove the site will be successful. He said: 'You will never get them off there. They've been there too long. Well, hopefully you will because they're scumbags. 'It's going to get a whole lot worse and I don't want to be here to see it.' The massive encampment sits close to a popular golf club and a stables, both of which rely on security gates and security cameras. Full details of the land grab were laid bare last week in a failed appeal against action ordering traveller families to leave the land. Two planning enforcement notices and a stop notice were first served by the council in December 2025, ordering the removal of all mobile homes and caravans from the site after they were stationed there without planning permission. The spot was transformed into a vast construction site within the space of just over two hours on November 28. Eight diggers were tearing across the pasture beneath blazing floodlights as teams of workers carried out a huge earth-moving operation. By the following morning, convoys of eight-wheel lorries were blocking surrounding roads as they queued to deliver huge quantities of hardcore and other building materials. Within hours, the countryside was being carved into residential plots and smothered with hardstanding. Fences and concrete posts were erected, electricity and lighting installed and connections prepared for gas, drainage and water. The entire operation was intended to have the caravan site ready for occupation before Havering Council could secure stop notices or court injunctions. Two planning enforcement notices and a stop notice were first served by the council in December 2025, ordering the removal of all mobile homes and caravans from the site after they were stationed there without planning permission The impact of the 'caravan town' is clearly felt around the local area – with many homes installing CCTV cameras  Planning inspector Grahame Kean described the extraordinary project as a 'disciplined rapid unauthorised development' intended to confront council staff with effectively a 'done deal' when they returned to work on the Monday. He said: 'The development was clearly intended to be ready for occupation by the end of the weekend in question and presented a fait accompli for the council.' The tactic of building at speed after council offices have closed and then seeking permission retrospectively has become increasingly familiar to planning enforcement teams – and highlighted a number of times by the Daily Mail. Over the last Easter weekend, diggers and caravans moved on to green belt land near Flamstead, Hertfordshire, while other unauthorised sites prompted legal action in Surrey and Kent. During the May bank holiday, workers descended on countryside in Essex and Kent after local authority offices closed for the long weekend. At Noak Hill, the inspector found that the development had been 'long in the planning' and that retrospective planning applications to lawfully use the land were submitted 'almost as an afterthought'. The land was bought by a company called High Top Roofs and Gutters Limited in May 2025 and then later subdivided among several Irish Traveller families. Frank Mongan, whose family roots are from Galway, acquired one parcel of 14 pitches. Thomas Mongan took another plot of land, while the third parcel was sold to James and Joseph McDonagh. Ray Morgon, the leader of Havering Council, said in December the authority was 'disappointed and shocked' that work had begun without planning permission, particularly because the field was protected green belt. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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