Frustrated villagers pack council meeting over 'unauthorised' traveller site in Tilsworth
Tilsworth villagers packed a council chamber to voice their concerns over an “unauthorised” extension to a travellers’ site.
They made their feelings known about what they see as an apparent failure by Central Bedfordshire Council to enforce planning law consistently.
Travellers turned a field off Dunstable Road into a permanent camp within a weekend in June. The area of land is next door to a legally occupied location in the village.
A resident told a full council meeting: “Villagers have raised numerous concerns about apparent inconsistencies in the enforcement of planning rules in Tilsworth.
“It seems the travelling community has a well-established and efficient practice of transforming land completely by levelling trees, laying tarmac and defining plots between 5.30pm on a Friday afternoon and 9am on a Monday.
“This is typically followed by a retrospective planning application, which they expect the council will approve. Taking the path of least resistance is unacceptable and this wouldn’t be tolerated if this approach was taken within the settled community.
“We now face a situation of traveller community dominance in Tilsworth, a village mentioned in the Domesday Book in the 11th Century consisting of about 140 homes and 370 residents.
“Will you commit to meeting with residents providing appropriate transparency on planning applications, enforcement action, site compliance and decisions concerning the traveller sites in and around Tilsworth, so we can all live harmoniously together?”
Independent Barton-le-Clay and Silsoe councillor Liz Childs replied: “The council initially received reports of unauthorised development on June 12, after 5pm.
“CBC officers attended the site on June 15 to gather evidence, and a temporary stop notice was served on June 16. That temporary stop notice was complied with and there was no further development once it had been served.
“CBC went on to seek a High Court injunction, which was obtained and served on July 3. The council considers the response and actions to the breaches of planning control to be timely.
“This authority doesn’t operate an out-of-hours service. The decision to withdraw that was made several years ago because it didn’t provide value for money.
“Compliance officers continue to monitor the site and the area on a frequent basis, and will proactively respond in a prompt manner to any further breaches of planning control or unauthorised development.
“The council is unable to change national planning policy or legislation. We can’t give weight to previous breaches or enforcement notices on the application site or adjoining ones when determining planning proposals.
“But the national planning policy framework (NPPF) does require substantial weight be applied to any intentional unauthorised development for retrospective planning applications.”
CBC has served five enforcement notices during the last five years on the site on Dunstable Road.
“This is in addition to the temporary stop notice, three High Court injunctions and one breach of condition notice. Three of the enforcement notices have been required to be complied with or upheld,” cllr Childs added.
“This is evidence the council has consistently applied the planning legislation in this area to the breaches of planning control. Robust enforcement action has been followed up by taking appropriate prosecution action where necessary.
“The council has successfully defended two of the three enforcement appeals, which have been on the site since 2020. Timescales for planning enforcement appeals and prosecution cases aren’t dictated by this authority, but by the planning inspectorate and the judiciary respectively.
“CBC has been very transparent with the enforcement approach taken and answered all inquiries the officers have received. I hear everything you’re saying and will raise further points with officers, so we establish the best way for future dialogue around these issues.”