Overview
- Residents say a travelling group turned a rural field in Alfold into a 17‑plot gated site with 21 caravans and five static homes, using 30 to 40 lorries of materials over the Easter weekend.
- Waverley Borough Council issued two stop notices under the Town and Country Planning Act and says the orders were ignored, so it is now seeking legal steps to undo the work.
- Surrey Police said they found no criminal offences and described the development as a planning‑permission matter for the council after joint visits to the site.
- Locals report fear and frustration, a councillor says people are visibly shaken, a fundraiser for locks and CCTV passed £5,000, and MP Jeremy Hunt said he will raise the case with the Housing Minister.
- Similar rapid sites were reported in Kent and Hertfordshire, including areas laid with concrete, highlighting how bank‑holiday timing and civil‑only enforcement can allow swift, hard‑to‑reverse changes on private land.