A quiet town in Surrey has found itself grappling with an unexpected situation as a piece of woodland was cleared to establish an encampment over the Easter weekend. This incident occurred in Burpham, Guildford, where local residents are expressing frustration and concern.
Witnesses reported seeing individuals in high-visibility jackets setting up gates and fences, transforming the once lush area into a hardstanding site. Drone footage captured the stark contrast as the overgrown terrain gave way to a cleared, more developed space.
This situation mirrors similar occurrences in Sundridge, Kent, and Flamstead village, Hertfordshire, also during the Easter bank holiday. It appears these actions were timed to take advantage of the expected slow response from council officials during the holiday period.
In Guildford, a local business owner, who wished to remain unnamed, voiced the community’s primary concern: the impact on local wildlife as the trees continue to be felled. “They’ve been creating a more stable area by removing trees and enclosing it,” he shared.
He further expressed the uncertainty that pervades the community, saying, “We don’t have any details, and nobody really knows what’s happening. It’s all a bit sudden, and we’re still trying to figure it out.”
‘We have no details, nobody really knows what is happening. It is all a bit sudden, we are still trying to piece it together.
‘The tree clearing is what has upset most people. It is pretty bare there now. In Guildford wildlife is the first concern.’
The local claimed the traveller group bought the land, which is by an industrial estate, a few months ago, but they do not have permission to build on it.
The area of land that has been stripped of trees and fences erected by travellers at Clay Lane in Burpham, Guildford
A caravan pictured at the site at Clay Lane in Burpham this week
Residents were left furious after seeing men in hi-vis jackets installing a gate and fences
Work takes place at the piece of land at Clay Lane in Burpham, Guildford
It is claimed that the traveller group bought the land, which is by an industrial estate, a few months ago, but they do not have permission to build on it
He said that the residents are still holding out hope that Guildford Borough Council will step in, as he said they have with previous attempts to settle nearby.
He added: ‘I think everyone is just waiting to see if it will be permanent or not. Right now it is just the construction workers there. We are about five metres away from it.
‘I have spoken to a few of the construction guys but even they don’t know what is happening or how permanent it will be. At face value they are saying it is all legit.
‘Obviously nobody is hoping for this. We have got some of the neighbours already all over the council on it so they will be aware by now.’
A Facebook user added: ‘That’s definitely going to be a traveller site, all geared up for works over the long Easter weekend.’
Guildford Borough Council (GBC) said: ‘We are aware of the work carried out at the weekend on a site in Clay Lane, Burpham.
‘We are investigating as a priority – council officers have visited the site and are completing background work to gain a full understanding of the situation.
‘This will inform our next steps.
‘We take all planning breaches extremely seriously. If a breach of planning control is confirmed on any site in the borough, we have several enforcement options.
‘We are required to follow the legal process, which can take time, but we remain committed to taking action and pursuing every enforcement route available to us.
‘As with any unauthorised development in the borough, we will continue to follow the required legal processes to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.’
Councillor George Potter, the representative for Burpham, said: ‘Planning permission has not been granted for the development, and SCC has not granted permission for vehicular access onto the highway at this location.
‘GBC planning enforcement will be actively investigating this unauthorised development, and will need to follow the normal legal process that is applied to any unauthorised development.
‘Unauthorised development is a civil matter, not a criminal one, and legal enforcement can take a long time, because of the lengthy legal process.
‘The development appears to be being carried out by the landowner, and therefore has to follow the same process as if someone was building something without permission in their back garden.’
On Thursday, more than a dozen caravans moved into another plot of land in Surrey when travellers transformed a rural field into a 17 plot ‘gated community’ in the village of Alford.
Residents in Surrey reported thinking it was strange when they saw people they didn’t recognise measuring the widths of the road on Wednesday, April 1.
But just a day later it became clear as to 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 brought to the site.
The battle Surrey locals now face is the same in Kent and Hertfordshire, where ‘land grabs’ by travellers also took place over the Easter weekend.
The site of a 17-plot community in Alford, Surrey, where travellers descended last weekend
A total of 21 caravans and five static homes were brought to the site, which was constructed quickly over the bank holiday weekend
An aerial view of the new site in Sundridge, Kent, which features a static caravan, mobile home, a smaller caravan and other vehicles
Residents in Sundridge, a rural stockbroker belt in Kent, accused police of ‘aiding and abetting’ a group of travellers after they turned up, paved over a field and blocked a country road until 4am on Easter weekend.
The family descended on Sundridge under the cover of darkness on Friday, using diggers and machinery to convert the green space into a hardstand caravan site.
But their plans came to a temporary halt on Sunday when a three-bedroom static caravan loaded onto a lorry became wedged in a major country lane in the village, infuriating locals who couldn’t get past.
Fuming residents called the police and went out onto the road in an attempt to block any vehicles getting access to the field – leading to one local being arrested.
Meanwhile, in a beauty spot in Flamstead village, Hertfordshire, furious residents had their village ‘invaded’ by traveller families setting up camp by tearing up the land with bulldozers and diggers.
The first batch of caravans followed suit a few days later on Easter Sunday morning, as council officials were off for the bank holiday weekend.
The group laid down huge squares of concrete on the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), surrounded by rolling fields and woodland.
The travellers launched their land grab over the Bank Holiday weekend in the hope that council bosses would be slow to react, it is understood.
