More caravans arrive at travellers' camp (From Bucks Free Press)

More caravans arrive at travellers' camp in Hemley Hill

1:17pm Monday 27th September 2010 in Politics By Lawrence Dunhill

REPORTS that a number of unauthorised caravans have moved on to a travellers' site near Princes Risborough are being investigated.

The mobile homes are thought to have moved onto the camp in Upper Icknield Way, Hemley Hill, on Friday evening.

Wycombe District Council has a High Court Injunction on the site, which bans further development since nine families carried out an “unauthorised construction” during the Easter holidays last year.

The news comes as the travellers and local residents await the result of July's Planning Inquiry, which considered the council's refusal of planning permission for nine gypsy and traveller pitches at the site.

Traveller Patrick Hanrahan, 60, who bought the land for £10,000, said two caravans had come on to the camp but they would not be staying.

He added: “Those two caravans are going to a funeral in Ireland, they will be gone tomorrow. They are just stopping off.”

One neighbour of the site, who asked not to be named, said: “No new caravans are meant to be on there. They say they've got no where else to go but they have come from somewhere.

“That used to be an open field and we had a view all the way across the valley.”

The council's 'status-quo injunction' prohibits “all further development including laying of hardcore and swapping of caravans or replacement of the caravans with mobile homes”.

An environmental health officer for the council told residents at the weekend that the reports will be investigated. She did not enter the site but counted 12 caravans from the boundary.

Spokesman Catherine Spalton said planning enforcement officers will be visiting the site today to investigate further.

Last week the decision over planning permission and the serving of an enforcement notice on the site was called in by Eric Pickles - the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

The reason given by the Secretary of State is that “the appeals involve proposals for significant development in the Green Belt”.