TRAVELLERS at an illegal campsite have been served enforcement notices preventing any further development on the site.

Basildon Council has taken its latest legal steps to evict the travellers from the greenbelt land and served copies of the injunctions on occupants of the unauthorised traveller site on land west of Hovefields Avenue, Wickford.

Bailiffs instructed by the council and supported by police officers again attended the site today as part of the ongoing investigation into the breach of a High Court injunction.

While on site, officers served notices on two individuals who were present on the land, providing them with copies of the injunction and planning enforcement notices, which forbids further development on the land.

The council has insisted it will continue to actively pursue offenders for breaching the terms of the High Court injunction.

Kevin Blake, deputy leader of Basildon Council, said: “The only way we can ensure this land is restored to its proper state is by following the letter of the law and gathering as much evidence as we can to take to court.

“This operation is another important step which will ensure the council is well-placed to restore the land which is in the green belt.

“We understand residents want quick action and I am as frustrated as anyone that the council cannot speed up this process.

“The law, in its current form, does not provide councils with the emergency powers to take immediate action in the event of a planning breach such as this.”

The travellers began illegally expanding the camp earlier this month when trucks carrying asphalt arrived.

Residents living close to the Hovefields site watched in horror as nearly two-thirds of the five acre field – about the size of three football pitches – was covered in asphalt. It is claimed the land was then split into plots. Five caravans moved off the land, which is already subject to an injunction, only to be replaced by three mobile homes and another caravan.