Essex Field Concreted for Traveller Plots Appears on Facebook for Sale
One of 12 plots on a four-acre site near Felsted, Essex, has been listed for sale on Facebook. This follows an ongoing dispute since 1 May regarding the alleged unauthorised concreting of the rural land by travellers. The advert, placed by a seller from Milton Keynes, described the plot as being near Braintree and London Stansted Airport, with the price undisclosed.
Residents of Willows Green reported a 'military operation' involving approximately 30 lorries delivering fencing, hardcore, and septic tanks under cover of darkness. Sir James Cleverly, Conservative MP for Braintree, accused those responsible of 'gaming the system' by undertaking the work during a bank holiday weekend when Uttlesford District Council offices were closed.
Council records indicate the agricultural land was purchased for £125,000 on 30 April 2025 by UK Real Estate and Land 2 Limited, a company dissolved two days prior to the transaction. Uttlesford District Council, which refused planning permission for a three-bedroom log cabin on the field in February due to harm to 'the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside', issued a stop work order on Wednesday for the 'alleged unauthorised development'. No current planning applications are pending for construction on the site.
Sherrie Smith, a traveller rights campaigner and founder of Gypsy and Travellers Essex, stated that the travellers have ceased construction and intend to comply with the council's order. Smith claimed that planning processes often discriminate against the traveller community, leading to the practice of seeking retrospective permission. She affirmed the travellers would restore the land if a retrospective application were denied. Council papers from December indicated a need for 35 traveller pitches across the Uttlesford district.
