{"id":739698,"date":"2026-08-16T09:42:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T09:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/739698\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T09:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T09:42:17","slug":"unauthorised-traveller-sites-expanding-as-population-grows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/739698\/","title":{"rendered":"Unauthorised traveller sites expanding as population grows"},"content":{"rendered":"

The number of unauthorised Gypsy and traveller sites is on the rise, with developments often carried out over Bank Holiday weekends.<\/p>\n

Since April, sites in Hertfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and elsewhere have been transformed, prompting legal battles and local dismay.<\/p>\n

In January, the number of unauthorised traveller caravans \u2013 those without planning permission \u2013 across England stood at 4,950, a 73% increase on January 2020’s figure of 2,860.<\/p>\n

The summer count also shows a rise, of 44% between July 2019 and July 2025, from 3,113 to 4,471.<\/p>\n

A senior councillor in one affected area warns there has been a “loss of control” of the planning system, while villagers living near one site likened its rapid construction to a “military operation”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The government says unauthorised development is “totally unacceptable” and that councils have “strong powers” to tackle it.<\/p>\n

But Cliff Codona, who founded and chairs the National Travellers’ Action Group, says the planning system is like a “big dagger in their back” for travellers, leaving them no option but to “break the law”.<\/p>\n

So what do travellers say is driving some to act unlawfully, and what do others think?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The number of unauthorised Gypsy and traveller sites is on the rise, with developments often carried out over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":739699,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-739698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=739698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/739699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=739698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=739698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=739698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}