Traveller land-grab leads to 'three months of sheer hell' with villagers struggling to sell their £600,000 homes

By ISAAC CROWSON and RORY TINGLE, HOME AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT Published: 00:02, 15 July 2026 | Updated: 00:02, 15 July 2026 Residents of a quiet Surrey village are struggling to sell their homes after a traveller 'land-grab' caused 'three months of sheer hell'. Locals in Alford watched in horror as a group of travellers descended on a nearby field on April 2 before transforming it into a 17-plot 'gated community' without planning permission.  One 'heartbroken' woman who is currently trying to sell her house says only one person has viewed it over the last three months.  She claimed her neighbours had been forced to reduce their asking prices in a desperate bid to sell.   'I am heartbroken - it's devastating when we've worked hard all our lives, saved and done the right thing,' the woman told the Daily Mail.  'Now we have them across the road, who would want to live here? We've had one viewer in three months. We put it up as soon as the rumours were flying around that they were coming.' One of the properties for sale is a £600,000 three-bedroom barn conversion described in listings as 'exceptionally spacious' and 'beautifully presented'. However, it is also one of the homes closest to the unauthorised site. Residents in Alford claim traveller children have stolen ornaments and adults have yelled abuse.  'All hell' descended on the sleepy home county village of Alford on April 2, when the group transformed a rural field into a 17-plot 'gated community' Travellers unveiled this sign at the illegal site less than a week after moving in  Your browser does not support iframes. The homeowner said the noise from the site had forced her to sleep downstairs.  'I've not had a full night's sleep since - the generators are so loud, it's unreal,' she said.  'It's constant throughout the night. I'm at the back, downstairs, trying to sleep. It's badly impacted our lives. It's horrendous and they don't care.  'We have this house which we've saved and worked from and now it's worth a lot less.  'Meanwhile, they break the law, get to stay, and drive around in brand new Mercedes and Range Rovers.' Neighbours are also furious about the noise it is causing, with workmen leaving at 4am and the clip-clopping of ponies and traps at all times of the day. The travellers have been issued with an enforcement notice by Waverley Borough Council ordering them to leave.  But they have appealed and a two-day hearing will now take place in September to decide the outcome. Construction took place day and night to transform the rural field into an illegal site A total of 21 caravans and five static homes were brought to the site, which was constructed quickly over the bank holiday weekend  Another local said: 'I feel so sorry for those trying to sell their homes. It's devastating - we've been through three months of sheer hell. 'I cannot understand why they're still there and all of this has not been sorted sooner. 'Their children have stolen items from outside homes and the adults have been abusive.' Other residents described feeling like 'prisoners' in their own homes and said it did not feel safe enough to go outside. Locals first reported strange activity when they saw people they didn't recognise measuring the widths of the road on April 1. A day later, it became clear why - when 30 to 40 grab lorries containing pipes, wood, aggregate, and steel arrived to create an entire community on the land.  Working day and night over the Easter weekend, 21 caravans and five static homes were soon brought to the site. Police were called, but residents were told it was a matter for the council.  One local man - Peter Foy - described the speed of construction as 'impressive, but horrendous at the same time' and said everyone in the village was 'incredibly angry'.  Travellers regularly construct unauthorised sites over weekends and bank holidays when council staff are away.  Local councillor Jane Austin said residents had been left 'visibly shaken' by the new site  One local man - Peter Foy - described the speed of construction as 'impressive, but horrendous at the same time' and said everyone in the village was 'incredibly angry'  The council enforcement notice for the site in Alford requires the land to no longer be used for residential purposes. It also orders all mobile homes, hardstanding and rubbish to be removed.  In their appeal, the travellers argue they should be granted retrospective planning permission and that the six-month period they were given to comply was too short.  Councillor Liz Townsend, Waverley Borough Council portfolio holder for planning and economic development, said: 'We understand residents' frustration at the length of the legal process.  'We take our responsibility to protect Waverley's landscapes and communities extremely seriously, which is why the suggestion that the council has been slow to act is simply not correct. 'The council took enforcement action within hours of the very first day the unauthorised development began.  We issued a Temporary Stop Notice on April 2 requiring works to cease and, when development continued, issued a second Temporary Stop Notice the following day which was in fact a Bank Holiday. 'The following week, the council obtained an Emergency Interim High Court Injunction to prevent any further unauthorised development.  'Rather than waiting for a hearing to be scheduled, our Head of Planning travelled to the High Court in person and remained there until a judge became available to hear the application. 'The council then continued to escalate its enforcement action by issuing an Enforcement Notice requiring the residential use to cease, the unauthorised development to be removed and the land to be restored. 'The timetable is now determined by the independent statutory appeals process. Once an appeal has been submitted, it is for the Planning Inspectorate to set the timetable and determine the case. The council has no power to influence or accelerate that process.'