Nottingham County Court has made a final injunction order requiring an illegal encampment in Weston to cease operating as a caravan site and be restored to its original condition by 15 January 2027 after Newark and Sherwood District Council applied to restore previous injunction proceedings issued in April 2025.
The court also awarded the Council £30,000 in legal costs, for which all defendants are jointly and severally liable.
Councillor Andy Freeman, Chair of Newark and Sherwood District Council’s Planning Committee, said:
This is an excellent result for Newark and Sherwood District Council and for everyone in the district who expects planning rules to be applied fairly and consistently. It sends a clear message that we will take appropriate enforcement action wherever breaches occur, whether they are large or small.
I would also like to thank the officers whose tireless work over many months helped secure this result.
Reports from residents help us identify and investigate potential breaches. I encourage anyone who believes development may be taking place without the necessary permission to report it to the Council so our planning enforcement team can consider the matter.
The unlawful development in Weston, located between Tuxford and Sutton-on-Trent along the side of the A1 took place on Good Friday, 18 April 2025.
Within 24 hours, working overnight, occupiers of this site had built roads, removed hedges, created entrances, put up fences and established electricity and water supplies in order to create plots, known as pitches. By Tuesday 22 April 2025, there were approximately 40 pitches on site.
The District Council quickly served a planning enforcement notice on the site and continued to pursue legal enforcement during the following months which included an initial interim injunction prohibiting any further activity on the land and being successful in an appeal against the enforcement notice, leading to the trial that took place this week.
In his ruling, His Honour Judge Owen said the works had been carried out over a bank holiday to ensure they were completed “with a degree of secrecy”, describing them as “pre-planned and well-orchestrated”.
Councillor Andy Freeman, continues,
This hasn’t been an easy journey, but we have been absolutely committed to this case and ensuring planning rules are observed. I know the local community have been very concerned since April last year and I hope this is welcoming news to them. The hard work is not over and we will continue to push this court decision right up until the site is returned back to normal.
The Council has now served the order on the relevant parties. It will continue to monitor the site and take the necessary steps to recover the costs awarded by the court.
