Injunction halts unauthorised work at wildlife spot

A High Court injunction has been secured to halt the unauthorised use of diggers ripping up a wildlife hotspot.

Construction vehicles gained access to the floodplain off Sheering Mill Lane in Sawbridgeworth on Saturday morning.

Pictures seen by the BBC showed at least three diggers tearing the field apart, while vans and heavy trucks were parked nearby.

East Hertfordshire District Council, which had shut its offices for the Bank Holiday weekend just hours earlier, said work was ordered to stop at about 22:30 BST.

The injunction temporarily blocked further development on the land and bringing caravans on-site, as well as banning anyone occupying the plot.

Council staff first became aware of the development, which did not have planning permission, on Saturday morning.

Locals have said the site was often visited by muntjacs and had a rich ecosystem.

Josh Dean, the Labour MP for Hertford and Stortford, said people were "deeply concerned" about what was happening.

"This land includes potential wildlife habitats and a local flood plain," he said in a letter to local council and police officials.

"Residents have been told by those involved that, by the end of the Bank Holiday weekend, this precious environment will have been decimated and replaced with concrete and Tarmac."

In a statement on Saturday evening, Harlow Fencing said it had stopped all deliveries to the site after concerns were raised about its involvement.

"We were led to believe the site was a legitimate new-build development and supplied materials in good faith," it added.

Hertfordshire Police said it was "aware of a dispute over the use" of the field.

Saturday's unauthorised project was the latest in a spate of incidents whereby work begins over Bank Holiday weekends.

An illegal camp was set up on green belt land in Flamstead in April, and a field was concreted over illegally in Willows Green, near Braintree in Essex in May.

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