Surrey village braces as unauthorised traveller encampment expands after plots go on sale for £25,000

An unauthorised traveller encampment on a field near Bramley, Surrey, has intensified fears in a wealthy rural community after a landowner listed two adjacent plots for sale at £25,000 each, potentially enabling expansion. Locals said caravans arrived late on Friday, and heavy machinery moved in to rip up hedgerows, create a new access, and lay hard-standing ahead of any planning permission being granted.

The field, half an acre in size and known locally as 'The Loseley', was sold at online auction in recent days. By Wednesday two additional plots next to the new traveller site were listed for sale, each at £25,000, on Connect UK Land Auctions. The patches total almost 1.2 acres and could, if bought by the travellers or others, see the current site almost triple in size.

At least five caravans are already pitched on the field. The unauthorised encampment sits in Bramley, a village of about 3,700 people near Guildford, in the so-called golden triangle of Surrey, close to a nature reserve and a golf club. A planning application was submitted hours after construction began, but Guildford Borough Council confirmed there were no existing planning permissions to build on the land. A council spokeswoman said the site would be visited and the case fully assessed to determine next steps.

Residents described the operation as a rapid, militarised effort. One neighbour described lines of traffic and heavy equipment moving in at night, with hedges removed and a new entrance created; by Monday morning there was a functioning caravan park. The local planning tension is set against the land’s potential designation within the Surrey Hills National Landscape, a status that underscores the area’s conservation value. Critics argue the episode exposes gaps in enforcement, while supporters of the travellers say the families deserve safe, stable places to live amid a national shortage of official sites.

Bramley Parish Council chair Jane Austin urged authorities to act quickly, saying the incident makes a mockery of the planning system and that residents are rightly furious about what they view as a lack of decisive action. Former Chancellor Sir Jeremy Hunt, the local MP, voiced concern about delays in enforcement and highlighted the balance between safeguarding green spaces and addressing housing pressures. Surrey Police said it had responded to reports near Unstead Lane on Saturday but, after initial inquiries, determined there was no call for further police action at that time.

The council has said it is investigating the matter as a priority and will notify nearby residents once a site visit is completed and a full assessment is made. Councillor Matthew Furniss, Bramley’s representative at Surrey County Council, said he would press for a quick resolution and noted Surrey Highways Enforcement would assess the newly constructed access road to the site.

The Bramley incident is part of a broader pattern observed across rural England, where unauthorised camps have appeared in green belts and protected landscapes in recent weeks. In Devon, a group used heavy machinery to demolish a former pony field in roughly 24 hours, drawing condemnation from locals. In Hagley, Worcestershire, more than a dozen trucks turned a field into a caravan park overnight. A similar rush occurred in Sussex at Blind Lane, near Petworth in the South Downs National Park, where a field was converted into a gravel car park with multiple caravans. Similar situations have been reported in Balderton, Nottinghamshire; Lee Gate, Buckinghamshire, near former celebrity homes; and Burley in the New Forest, where residents have called for stricter enforcement and clearer rights.

Travelers and local residents alike frame the debate in terms of systemic pressures: a shortage of authorised sites, the perceived encroachment on agricultural land, and the speed at which camps can be established when enforcement resources are stretched. Some travellers say they are seeking to build homes for their families and to access education and medical services, while others point to the necessity of respecting planning laws and wildlife protections.

The land near Bramley had been earmarked to receive the national landscape designation, a rebranding of the former area of outstanding natural beauty status, which adds another layer to the governance questions surrounding these encampments. Local officials emphasise that even when land is attractive for development, the planning system applies to all and that enforcement actions must follow due process.

As the two sale plots attract attention, residents fear the encampment could expand further if buyers step in, altering the landscape and heightening tensions within a community where property values are among the highest in the region. The broader national conversation about travellers, housing, and land use continues to unfold, with authorities in Bramley preparing to weigh planning considerations, wildlife protections, and the rights of communities to enjoy their local green spaces as the episode develops.