Angry residents say a Cotswolds beauty spot has been destroyed by travelers who bulldozed onto a site they don’t have permission to live in, despite the council trying to stop it for 17 years.
People in Kayte Lane, a rural site below Cleeve Hill, in Southam, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, had feared land grabbing for years before it finally happened in May last year.
And they say authorities haven’t done enough to prevent it.
Tewkesbury Borough Council first received an injunction in 2007 to try to protect the green belt site and insists it is still doing everything it can to protect the site, which is close to Cheltenham Racecourse, from development .
It refused a retrospective planning application after receiving more than 200 objections from commuters in November last year, but they have lodged an appeal which will now be decided by the zoning inspectorate.
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Sixteen caravans, plus several cars and vans, were recently on site, where the travelers moved on the late spring holidays of 2023.
They built tough conditions on the field, built a tall wooden fence along its edge and installed CCTV cameras, some of which overlook their neighbours.
One Kayte Lane resident, who did not want to be identified, said the travelers used a bulldozer to remove vegetation from parts of the site as they moved towards it.
He said it should not have been allowed and that the beauty had been spoiled by turning it into a caravan site.
“It’s green belt, open aspect land. Sheep and horses lived on it. Basically it was pasture.
“Tewkesbury Borough Council does not enforce anything. We are fighting against a brick wall.
“Now we have an 8-foot fence. We once had the opportunity to see the village of Southam. We can’t anymore.
“You can hear the noise from the machines, sometimes until 10:00 p.m. They are still doing work now and they shouldn’t be there,” he said.
Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “If they can get away with it, everyone can get away with it.
“On the second holiday in May last year, they came with a bulldozer and leveled the ground. We were looking at the green fields.
“There should be post and wire fencing with animals.
“At night, the place is lit up like a Christmas tree from solar lights.”
The man’s wife said, “It lights up the neighborhood at night. That’s horrible.’
She said the CCTV on the passenger fence had made residents feel like they were being watched and she and her husband were considering moving.
Residents are working with Southam Parish Council to raise at least £10,000 to fund a planning specialist to represent them at the appeal hearing and future relevant meetings.
Tewkesbury Borough Council said in a statement: “We investigated two unauthorized Roma/Traveller sites on Kayte Lane.
“One of these sites, known as Green Orchard, recently received planning permission from the Planning Inspectorate, overturning the council’s refusal of permission.
“A zoning appeal has been lodged against the council’s decision to refuse planning permission on another larger site and this remains pending at this time.
“Both sites are subject to a High Court injunction and legal proceedings which are still ongoing at this time.”
Travelers were contacted for comment.