Families in a Kent commuter belt village say there is ‘one law for some and another for others’ after travellers paved over a field and moved in caravans without planning permission – only for the site to be approved four years later.
Locals in picturesque West Malling near Tonbridge claim their quiet rural idyll has been under siege since 2020 when a nearby field was sold to new owners for £105,000.
The following year, a planning application was submitted to build two stables on the land, which was designated as open countryside and part of the ‘Green Belt’.
Despite these plans being rejected, locals say an ‘illegal’ traveller site was built over the course of 2021, complete with caravans, two mobile washrooms, a septic tank and dog kennels.
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council issued an enforcement notice in July 2021 but this was successfully appealed by the landowner the following year.
Temporary permission was granted for the site, and on December 3, 2025, it was made permanent, with a lack of traveller pitches in the area given as a reason for its approval.
Due to the development, the land is now classified as ‘Grey Belt’ and according to property website Zoopla part of the field could now be worth as much as £1.4million.
Locals say the travellers have been made ‘millionaires overnight’, adding that the ‘treasured green belt land has been transformed into a lucrative asset for those who flouted planning laws’.
Pictured: The traveller site which has now been approved in West Malling, Kent
Diggers are seen at the site before it was tarmacked over and a traveller pitch built on it
Tonbridge and Malling Council issued an enforcement notice in July 2021 but this was successfully appealed by the owner the following year
The row comes amid a slew of high-profile cases where travellers have purchased land, often in leafy parts of the Home Counties, before swooping in to lay tarmac and create pitches.
They have then sought planning permission retrospectively, forcing local authorities to kick them off an area already built over, in frequently lengthy and costly processes.
And in many cases, the travellers have been granted the right to establish permanent encampments after launching appeals against the enforcement notices.
New planning policy introduced by Angela Rayner in December 2024 forces councils to release green belt land to travellers if there is an ‘unmet need’ for pitches.
However, residents living close to the traveller pitch in West Malling say the planning process is grossly unfair.
One man, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘It’s not fair. It’s outrageous. They do exactly what they want to do.
‘Everyone else in this country, if they want to build a house, they have to buy a bit of land, and they build according to what the council allow them to build.
‘And this lot here in the once-illegal encampment – well they just do what they want. It’s like they are above the law.’
Describing how the site came about, he added: ‘The travellers sought permission to put in two stable blocks.
‘When that was refused the next thing we know it is concreted over. And there were two units put on there, not stable blocks.
Residents claim that trees were knocked down during the development
A mobile home is seen before it was installed at the site. Locals claim they blocked the roads
‘This caused absolute havoc down our lane. They cut trees down to accommodate these units coming in. And basically it has just grown from there.’
Another woman, who lives near the site, described the saga as an ‘awful shock’.
She said: ‘When the travellers first arrived, it was traumatic to say the least.
‘They came in one weekend and there were a lot of issues – the road was blocked. There was a motorhome coming down the lane that was knocking into trees.
‘Trees were being cut down to make room for it. We didn’t know they had purchased the land at this point – no one knew anything.
‘It was just an awful shock, bearing in mind we all moved here for a bit of rural space, rural land. Me, especially, I come from London.’
She added: ‘I don’t care if they’re travellers or not, I really don’t. What I can’t stand is the inconsistency and the unfairness of it.
‘If I bought some land and tried to build on it – I’d be given a notice straight away. I don’t understand why this was allowed.
‘They’ve now set a precedence that anyone could just go and rock up anywhere, start putting whatever they want on it.’
When the site was being considered for permanent approval in December last year, 54 locals objected to the site, which is situated close to ancient woodland.
The pitch was also the centre of controversy in July 2021, when just one week after the council issued its enforcement notice, there was a fire at the site.
The site is situated close to an ancient woodland and was classified as Green Belt land
The landowner has previously claimed that they did not wish to upset residents by building on the site but it was ‘their land’.
A spokesperson for Tonbridge and Malling Council said: ‘Since this site was initially unlawfully occupied in 2021, we have opposed its ongoing use, including taking enforcement action and refusing a previous planning application.
‘The occupiers of the site appealed against our refusal and government inspectors granted temporary planning permission to occupy the site in December 2022.
‘Since then, the government has made significant changes to national planning policy, which like all councils we are required to follow.
‘These changes included relaxing some of the restrictions on Green Belt development with the introduction of the concept of grey belt which provides a more permissive approach to development in certain circumstances.
‘When councillors met to decide this latest application and hear from concerned residents, there was considerable opposition to granting permission.
‘However, in light of the government’s new grey belt policy the committee was unable to identify any legitimate planning grounds on which to refuse the application.’
The Daily Mail has contacted the landowner’s agent for comment.
