Travellers are being accused of ‘holding a village to ransom’ after they bought a plot of land and set up an unauthorised camp – and then offered to leave for £600,000.
Many of the 800 residents of Dinton, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, fear they have fallen victim to a ‘land grab scam’ over a tennis-court sized plot of land on a greenfield site on the outskirts of their village.
Unbeknown to locals and the former owner, a traveller family bought the plot last year and on February 28 three caravans, a mobile home and lorries moved onto the site.
Rubble, plastic and tarmac were put down to make a hardstanding surface in the village which features the historic Dinton Hall, a Grade-II listed country manor.
Some locals who were protesting at the site, which is in a conservation area, claim they were approached by two men from inside the camp who said that if they wanted them to leave the area, they could buy the land back for more than £600,000.
Similar-sized, quarter-of-an-acre plots on the site had originally been bought for around £15,000, it is claimed.
The incident comes seven years after the infamous Doran clan demanded the same figure from residents in Dough Bank, Worcestershire, to leave a tennis-sized pitch in 2019.
The former landowner Michael Cook said: ‘This is an emergency for people in the village.
Many of the 800 residents of Dinton, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, fear they have fallen victim to a ‘land grab scam’ over a tennis-court sized plot of land on a greenfield site (pictured) on the outskirts of their village
Unbeknown to locals and the former owner, a traveller family bought the plot last year and on February 28 three caravans, a mobile home and lorries moved onto the site (pictured)
Rubble, plastic and tarmac were put down to make a hardstanding surface (pictured) in the village which features the historic Dinton Hall, a Grade-II listed county manor
‘When you think of crime, you think of it happening very quickly, but here we have 12 to 15 lorries running back and forth and someone should have been there to stop them.
‘It seems absolutely ridiculous in this day and age that everything seems to be reactive than proactive.’
This land was sold last year by Mr Cook, who described the situation as a ‘nightmare come true’ – as the land is under a covenant and can only be used for agriculture.
He still owns half of the field but had sold the other half before it was broken down into smaller plots at auction.
Buckinghamshire Council won a High Court injunction on March 5 to prevent any further building works or occupants, following a stop notice issued earlier that week.
Mr Cook, 54, said: ‘They [the travellers] started on a Saturday morning because they know everyone’s off work and they’ve got a 48-hour window.
‘The frustrating thing is you think you’ve got the protection in place but there’s no one there to police civil law. They were dumping plastic, rubble and tarmac down.
‘Authorities should be able to block the site. The static home was delivered hours after the stop notice – the next morning it was in ashes. Who did it, I do not know.’
Mr Cook added that while he had not been approached to buy the land, he had heard from other residents that they had been offered.
It comes as the mobile home was burnt to the ground on March 3, which Thames Valley Police confirmed they are investigating.
One villager, who did not want to be named, said locals had rallied to highlight to the council that the move broke planning laws and they are prepared to fight a civil case.
They said: ‘On Saturday, I looked out my window at half past seven to see a digger and two caravans on the site.
‘We went out and found they were already putting land down so we tried to stop them.
‘They lied to us and said they were planting potatoes, then later said they were planting carrots and they needed the caravans for rest.
‘When I spoke to the man, they told me that if the village or I wanted to buy the land off them, it would cost £600,000.
‘We believe this is part of a bigger scam, possibly an attempt by the landowner to put the fear of God into the residents to buy the land.’
Some locals who were protesting at the site (pictured), which is in a conservation area, claim they were approached by two men from inside the camp who said that if they wanted them to leave the area, they could buy the land back for more than £600,000
Similar-sized, quarter-of-an-acre plots on the site (pictured) had originally been bought for around £15,000, it is claimed
The former landowner Michael Cook (pictured at the site) said: ‘This is an emergency for people in the village’
Buckinghamshire Council won a High Court injunction on March 5 to prevent any further building works or occupants, following a stop notice issued earlier that week. Pictured: The village of Dinton
But Mr Cook said a static home was delivered to the site ‘hours’ after the stop notice: ‘The next morning it was in ashes. Who did it, I do not know’. Pictured: The burnt-out remains of the static home
The structure was burnt to the ground on March 3, which Thames Valley Police has confirmed they are investigating. Pictured: The burnt-out remains of the static home
Residents believe the turmoil could be part of a property racket – in which locals are intimidated into coughing up huge sums of money to buy back the land. Pictured: The village of Dinton
Concerned locals called the police but were told as it could not be ascertained who owned the land, it was a matter for the council.
Around 100 residents submitted breach of planning notices to the council, who issued a temporary stop notice ordering that no further materials or caravans be brought on to the site on March 2.
But a mobile home was later moved on the land and burnt down overnight.
The villager added said: ‘The home had been burnt to the ground. We called the police who came along with the fire brigade.
‘The itinerants were being quite aggressive.
‘These are cheap caravans someone has bought for £200. They are inhabitable.’
Residents believe the turmoil could be part of a property racket – in which locals are intimidated into coughing up huge sums of money to buy back the land.
They added: ‘We do believe this to be part of a bigger scam. It all seems very staged.’
But a family member of the travellers who set up on the site has denied they set out to commit an offence and said they had been targets of a ‘racist’ campaign.
A member of the traveller family, who would only give his surname as Doran, said they had nowhere else to go and did not intend anything illegal.
He admitted that it has been his father who had moved the caravan on, but denied there was intention to blackmail villagers.
He said: ‘Everyone’s saying he didn’t apply for planning permission but he didn’t intend to do anything illegal.
‘We’ve had issues with other people in the community previously and they were threatening to burn down the home.
‘We had to sell up and move – we have nowhere else to put the chalet and the caravans so we put it onto that land to keep it safe.’
The man said he had a ‘suspicion’ a villager may have burnt down the static home and said his community were facing discrimination due to their traveller heritage.
He said: ‘You can sense a real dislike towards our family. We’ve been through this before and we’ve faced discrimination before.
A member of the traveller family, who would only give his surname as Doran, admitted it was his father who moved the static home on to the site, but denied any intention to blackmail villagers. Pictured: The burnt-out remains of the static home
The man said he had a ‘suspicion’ a villager may have burnt down the static home and said his community were facing discrimination due to their traveller heritage. Pictured: The site
Greg Smith (pictured, at the site), MP for Mid Buckinghamshire, said the situation was an ‘egregious breach’ of planning law
They said: ‘The neighbours weren’t liking the fact travellers were moving in next door.’ Pictured: The village of Dinton
‘It was quite an expensive home. The neighbours weren’t liking the fact travellers were moving in next door.
‘They’re falling for a lot of propaganda but it’s not going to be a big traveller site and we don’t cause any trouble.
‘I believe the traveller community in this day and age go through more discrimination than any other ethnic group.’
The relative said he did not believe those who had moved on site knew there were restrictions on the land and said he could not comment on the claims the land was being offered to villagers.
The family said it planned to fight the planning dispute through the courts.
Greg Smith, MP for Mid Buckinghamshire, said the situation was an ‘egregious breach’ of planning law.
Mr Smith said: ‘We have a system that says you can’t do anything to land that seeks to change its use without planning permission.
‘There is categorically no planning permission for any use change and caravans were moved onto the site.
‘A few days later, after the formal stop notice was implemented, they moved a mobile home. It is an egregious breach of planning law.
‘There are multiple layers of protection to the site including the conservation zone and the church covenant by the Diocese of Oxford.
‘When the council has enforced a stop notice and has not received any planning application, it builds the case this is deliberate to circumvent planning laws.’
A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: ‘At around 7.38am on Tuesday (March 3), officers were called to reports of an arson incident involving a caravan fire on Upton Road, Dinton.
‘Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service were in attendance and extinguished the fire. We can confirm that no one was inside the caravan at the time.
‘If anyone witnessed this incident or has any information, please call 101 or report online quoting reference 43260104600.’
Peter Strachan, Buckinghamshire Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning, said: ‘We know that this has been a worrying issue for the local community which is why we took immediate action as soon as we were able to.
‘As with any legal matter, we must follow the correct procedures to ensure our actions taken are fully compliant with the law.
‘We take these breaches very seriously and I hope this action sends a clear message to everyone that it is important to abide by rules and regulations.
‘Where you do not, the Council will use all available levers to remedy breaches.
‘We will continue to monitor the situation at Upton Road closely and consider any further action as necessary.’