A senior planning enforcement officer was given a police “blue-light” escort through Hertfordshire in the early hours of Bank Holiday Monday as officials moved to halt an unauthorised development in Sawbridgeworth.
Nina Johnson-Marshall was travelling to the site off Sheering Mill Lane, where heavy machinery, fencing and caravans had reportedly been brought on to land beside the River Stort over the bank holiday weekend.
East Herts Council had secured an urgent High Court injunction late on Saturday to prevent further work and occupation of the land. When activity continued, a second order was granted and served at about 2am on Monday.
The updated injunction included a power of arrest for breaches, allowing police to intervene if work continued or anyone remained on the site in defiance of the court order.
Hertfordshire Police later entered the site, where those with unauthorised access left peacefully. The force said no arrests were necessary.
The council’s legal representatives said the work began on the evening of Friday, August 28, and that planning officers had worked through the weekend to gather evidence and serve the orders.
By the following days, work had stopped, vehicles and plant had been removed and most of the people who had occupied the land had left, according to the council’s legal advisers.
The land is described by local residents as a wildlife-rich floodplain, with claims that the area had been used by badgers, crested newts and other wildlife before the development began. Hundreds of residents gathered nearby during the weekend in what they described as a peaceful protest.
The injunction is due to remain in force until a further High Court hearing on September 15.
