Unauthorised traveller sites expanding as population grows

The number of unauthorised Gypsy and traveller sites is on the rise, with developments often carried out over Bank Holiday weekends.

Since April, sites in Hertfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and elsewhere have been transformed, prompting legal battles and local dismay.

In January, the number of unauthorised traveller caravans – those without planning permission – across England stood at 4,950, a 73% increase on January 2020's figure of 2,860.

The summer count also shows a rise, of 44% between July 2019 and July 2025, from 3,113 to 4,471.

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".

The government says unauthorised development is "totally unacceptable" and that councils have "strong powers" to tackle it.

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".

So what do travellers say is driving some to act unlawfully, and what do others think?

Matthew Green, a planning consultant who represented one of the site's residents at the 2023 planning inquiry, says councils could "get an injunction and get the people removed" if enforcement notices were not complied with.

"But," he asks, "if they go somewhere, where do they go?

"The answer is fairly straightforward: the council have to ensure – as is their duty – that there are enough pitches with planning permission in their area to meet the needs of people residing in their area."

In a report from February, council officials said there was a "shortfall" in the supply of "suitable and deliverable Gypsy and traveller sites" in Basildon.

The borough has not updated its local plan, which guides new development, since 1999, prompting intervention, external from the housing minister last month.

In 2024, analysts concluded, external that by 2042 Basildon would need enough pitches to house 302 Gypsy and traveller households.

Between April 2023 and February 2026, permission was granted for 31 new Gypsy and traveller pitches.