Yorkshire village ‘betrayed and helpless’ by Traveller site

Work began on land off Betteras Hill Road, near Hillam, west of Selby, at around 4.45pm last Friday.

Over the weekend, HGVs delivered tonnes of hardcore and building materials, while heavy earth-moving machinery was brought onto the land.

READ MORE: Traveller site set up in North Yorkshire ‘without permission’

Aerial photographs show at least 14 caravans now on the site, parts of which have been covered with hardcore and surrounded by fencing.

North Yorkshire councillor Tim Grogan, who represents Monk Fryston and South Milford, visited the site on Saturday and said Travellers had arrived “on a military scale” shortly before council offices closed for the weekend.

He understands seven pitches were being created for extended families, with two or three caravans on each.

He said: “The speed at which 30 to 40 individuals were working was astonishing.

“They were in diggers, they were in road rollers.

“They were all working like hell, putting fences up, drilling holes etc.

“The site is now covered in tonnes and tonnes of hardcore.”

The Traveller site near Hillam (Image: Contributed)

Cllr Grogan said locals were first alerted to work taking place on the site when drivers of delivery vehicles, carrying septic tanks and wood, asked for directions to the site which is down a single-track road.

The Reform councillor said he had warned North Yorkshire Council several weeks ago that the land might be used for a Traveller site and contacted officers again when materials began arriving and when work started on Friday.

He said residents of Hillam and surrounding villages were furious at what had happened and believed the council should have intervened sooner by issuing an emergency enforcement notice.

“Everybody to a man is furious about what has happened, and 90 per cent of people feel like they have been let down by North Yorkshire Council,” he said.

“Villages feel betrayed and they feel helpless.”

North Yorkshire Council did serve a temporary stop notice on Monday, although Cllr Grogan claimed this was “totally and utterly ignored” with further hardcore subsequently brought onto the land.

Martin Grainger, the council’s head of development management, said: “We are aware that a Gypsy and Traveller site has recently been set up in Hillam without planning permission.

“On Monday we served a temporary stop notice which requires work on the site to cease.

“In addition, we are actively progressing further enforcement options.”

On the criticism over the council’s response, Mr Grainger said the council must follow a formal process when dealing with possible unauthorised developments to ensure cases are properly investigated and action is taken with the right evidence and in a timeframe most likely to achieve the outcome needed.

He added: “In this instance we are satisfied that this matter has been progressed in a realistic timeframe and in line with the required procedures.

“We recognise the impact that unauthorised development can have on local communities and will always act in the interests of residents when investigating potential breaches of planning control.”