Travellers who besieged a wealthy Surrey hamlet and set up 10 ‘illegal’ pitches along one country lane are renting the caravans out for almost £1,000 a month.
Residents of picturesque Shipley Bridge say their once-idyllic community has been turned into a sprawling caravan settlement of around 70 mobile homes – with several occupied by non-travellers who have no right to be there.
Locals claim the sites – some of which have been granted retrospective planning permission due to the nationwide shortage of traveller pitches – are in fact being run as lucrative businesses.
They say the planning system, designed to ensure that travellers have places to live in the UK, is instead being exploited for profit, while their homes – some worth up to £1million – have nosedived in value.
Posts on Facebook advertising the mobile homes in Shipley Bridge for rent boast of ‘lovely walks, log cabins and open plan living and kitchen areas’.
One owner even told a prospective client he would charge £900-a-month for a one-bedroom log cabin in a social media thread that has been reported to Tandridge Council.
A survey published on the local authority’s website also acknowledges an ‘issue’ with non-travellers living at the sites in Shipley Bridge.
Referring to a pitch known as The Oaks on Green Lane, the document states: ‘The site is advertising as a “glamping” site and renting out numerous caravans without permission.’
There have also been claims from residents that some occupants may be migrants, although there is no direct evidence to support these claims.
Pictured: A view inside one of the traveller sites in Shipley Bridge
An aerial view of the traveller sites in Shipley Bridge, Surrey, where locals claim their rural idyll is under siege
Adverts on Facebook boast of ‘lovely walks, log cabins and open plan living and kitchen areas’
Locals have said they have seen adverts on Facebook advertising the mobile homes in Shipley Bridge for rent
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘People are now renting out these static homes for up to £800 to £1,200 a month.
‘We are seeing a lot of non-traveller people living at these sites despite there being an unmet need for pitches.
‘It feels like Shipley Bridge has been hijacked.’
Another added: ‘Most of the people living there are immigrants or people without homes.
‘We have residents who have spoken to the people living there and some are from Nigeria and other places.’
The row in Shipley Bridge comes amid a slew of high-profile cases where travellers have built illegally on greenbelt land before applying for retrospective planning permission.
They often claim there is a nationwide shortage of traveller sites and therefore should be allowed to continue living there on human rights grounds.
New planning policy announced by Angela Rayner in December 2024 forces councils to release greenbelt land to travellers if there is an ‘unmet need’ for pitches.
Locals, however, say this system is being abused – with the blatant destruction of greenbelt land and hacking down of protected trees now seen as a money-making opportunity.
One owner told a prospective client he would charge £900 a month for a one-bedroom log cabin in a social media thread that has been reported to Tandridge Council
Documents on Tandridge Council website show that several enforcement notices have been issued against sites in Shipley Bridge
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A number of the traveller sites are located behind large electric gates
They added that the council has failed to get a grip on the situation, meaning travellers are now able to build what they want first and ask for permission later.
Phil Cater, who bought a home in the hamlet near Gatwick Airport for nearly £1million in 2022, fears his property has become worthless as a result of the saga.
He said: ‘We bought this place because it was beautiful and it was surrounded by trees – protected trees. It was gorgeous.
‘We moved in in February 2022 and within six weeks the travellers turned up next door with heavy machinery and pulled down all the trees, mowed down all the shrubs and killed all the wildlife.
‘Then the trucks came along and put in place hardcore around one metre deep. It was like a military operation.
‘I paid nearly £1million for my house and the value has dropped by at least one quarter of a million pounds and that’s if I can even sell it.’
Mr Cater also claimed he was attacked when he challenged the travellers over whether they had planning permission to build the site next to his house.
‘I went out to protest what they were doing and to take photographs. One of them took my phone and made me delete them,’ he said.
‘Another threw a running chainsaw at me. The kids have thrown stones at the house, they also throw stones at cars as they pass down the lane.’
Typically, the work to build a new pitch in Shipley Bridge begins at the start of a bank holiday weekend when the local council’s offices are closed.
A general view of Green Lane in Shipley Bridge where a number of traveller sites are located
Locals have also been left horrified at the scale of the destruction – with swathes of trees hacked down to make way for the caravans. Pictured: One of the sites
Pictured: Workers are seen clearing the area to create a new traveller pitch
This effectively gives the new arrivals free rein to do what they want unchallenged until Tuesday, at which point the ‘land grabs’ are difficult to reverse.
Council documents indicate that Shipley Bridge originally had five approved sites with around 40 caravans.
However despite planning permission not being granted, this figure has risen sharply since 2022, with the number of caravans on the approved pitches also now exceeding what is allowed.
One local who did not want to be named said: ‘Our home was our biggest investment and should have been our safe place.
‘Now we are fearful when we drive down our lane.
‘We are trapped in our home which no one will buy. It has no value, yet we still have to pay our mortgage due to this illegal behaviour and live in fear every day.’
Documents on Tandridge Council website show that several enforcement notices have been issued against traveller sites in Shipley Bridge.
A spokesperson for the local authority said in response to the claims the caravans are being rented out: ‘We are aware of these allegations and have taken action to evidence and address such breaches.
‘To date this includes Planning Contravention Notices, Breach of Condition Notices, Enforcement Notices, injunctions through the High Court and prosecutions through the criminal courts.
‘We are not able to provide details about individual cases as our investigations are ongoing. It takes time to use the legal powers available to us and appeal processes are also lengthy.
‘Our Council Tax team has also been trying to clarify how many units there are on the site and who lives in them.’
A spokesperson for Surrey Police added: ‘In the past year, we understand there have been some concerns around anti-social behaviour and harassment relating to incidents on Green Lane, Shipley Bridge.
‘In 2025, we received four reports of anti-social behaviour and six reports of harassment or public order incidents.
‘For each case reported to us, we have carried out a thorough investigation and all reasonable lines of enquiry have been explored.’
