West Berkshire Council has returned to the High Court over a travellers’ camp that has appeared opposite AWE in Aldermaston.
The council opposed a landowner application to vary an existing injunction so up to 20 families could stay on the site while a planning decision is made. Both sides strongly disputed each other’s evidence at the hearing.
The landowners say they have a legal right to be on land they own, but the council says the unauthorised change of use remains unlawful and is subject to ongoing enforcement action.
The council has also received further planning applications for the site; these are being validated and, if validated, will allow public comments.
The judge decided the matter was too complex to resolve at that hearing and ordered a substantive High Court hearing after March 2026. That hearing is expected to last three days, with cross‑examination before a final decision.
The existing injunction remains fully in force until then. Any occupation beyond Plots 7 and 8, closest to the public footpath, is a breach of the injunction and the council says it will continue to monitor the site and consider appropriate action.
The council pointed to a recent High Court case in Tewkesbury where a landowner received a six‑month suspended prison sentence, was ordered to remove unauthorised works and was made to pay £75,000 in council costs after repeated non‑compliance with an injunction.
West Berkshire Council says it remains committed to pursuing this through the proper legal channels.
Separately, another illegal gypsy traveller site is being created in West Berkshire near Pangbourne. Work began a week before Christmas and the council has issued a stop notice, but locals fear notices are not a deterrent.
“I live in a small hamlet between Pangbourne and Bradfield which consists of 25 properties,” explained Arian Elsey. “We are in a designated National Landscape (AONB). We have a private drive, 580 metres long, serving our properties.
“To the west of this drive was a field which was designated as agricultural use only.
“They erected a fence around the site and moved six caravans on to it.
“The man in charge, in conversation with my neighbours, stated that they were going to have a permanent site and had applied for retrospective planning permission.
“He seemed very conversant with the law and of actions likely to be taken by the council and also stated that it would take six to seven years to go through all the legal processes.
“This situation appears to be a very regular occurrence across the country.”
A letter signed by 30 MPs warns of a “wave of illegal development” in the countryside, with land being bought and built on without planning permission. The MPs have called on ministers for a task force to help councils enforce planning rules and to consider new powers over such sites.
Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter
