Court injunction on traveller site stays in place

An injunction to stop the use of a traveller site built in an area of outstanding natural beauty must remain in place, a High Court judge has ruled.

It was originally granted after Dacorum Borough Council took legal action when an "unauthorised encampment" appeared near Flamstead, Hertfordshire, during a bank holiday weekend in April.

But travellers — who wanted retrospective planning permission — challenged it, arguing that their human rights had not been considered.

In a ruling issued on Monday, Deputy High Court Judge Jonathan Glasson said the injunction would remain in force, adding that the defendants had moved onto the site in "flagrant defiance" of it.

Flamstead Parish Council said diggers and bulldozers arrived at a field in the village in the Chiltern Hills at about 17:00 BST on Thursday 2 April.

To halt work a temporary stop notice was issued by the borough council, followed by an emergency court injunction.

Monday's ruling followed a High Court hearing on 7 May where the judge had heard arguments from Dacorum Borough Council and the travellers.

The judge said all 11 witness statements from the defendants stated occupation of the land had begun on 3 April, days before the injunction had first been served on 5 April.

But photographic evidence showed the land was not occupied on that date, and the defendants' evidence was "simply not believed".

He said: "In fact, they have deliberately breached the terms of the injunction and are not remotely trying to comply with the injunction."

The judge said there had been unauthorised development of the land and that this had continued, despite the injunction.

He said: "I cannot accept the intended defendants' evidence that they were in occupation on 3 April 2026 as alleged in their witness statements.

"Nor can I accept the submission that they were 'in occupation' at the date of the injunction."

The judge said the defendants had not come to court with "clean hands" and had "misled" the court in asserting they were in occupation on 3 April.

In the witness statements, the defendants were said to have complained about the living conditions on the land.

Their concerns included that there was no running water, no electricity, no toilets or washing facilities and no waste disposal.

Responding to the judge's ruling, the Liberal Democrat MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, Victoria Collins, said: "This is very welcome news and a strong outcome for local residents who have been deeply concerned about the ongoing situation."

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