"Living Next to the UK's Largest Traveller Site: 800 Caravans Struggling with Sewage and Fire Risks – Our Plea to Rayner"

FURIOUS locals living in the shadow of the UK’s largest traveller site have begged Angela Rayner to not make it harder to oppose the camps.

The Housing Secretary was accused of loosening restrictions that could make it harder for residents and councils to tackle illegal sites, including traveller camps.

Critics fear the new rules could potentially see mega encampments – like this one in South Ockendon, Essex – spring up over the UK countryside.

But locals living near the about its size, with some claiming the stench of sewage has become unbearable during the summer heat.

Others have raised fears over the risk of a major fire breaking out among the hundreds of .

While some say they feel too intimidated to speak openly about the huge community behind the towering metal gates.

When The Sun visited the site – we were repeatedly beeped at and heckled by vehicles coming to and from the gates.

And when our reporter moved away into the centre of South Ockendon, we appeared to be followed by a from the site which parked on the verge as the occupants glared at us working.

Locals spoke of feeling the atmosphere around the site in hostile and intimidating.

And many were unwilling to be named or pictured alongside their comments.

But not everyone in the area shares those concerns, with one young woman insisting the “keep themselves to themselves”.

The Sun visited the site after a new row emerged when Rayner was accused of weaking regulations on unauthorised sites.

Tories claimed that changes to the planning rules made to speed up housebuilding, would lead to more traveller sites.

Housing chiefs strongly pushed back however – insisting the government will “crack down on illegal traveller sites” and said it is “misleading to suggest otherwise”.

Half a century ago, the council granted permission for just 50 caravans for the Gypsy, Traveller or travelling showmen communities.

Today, the site has grown dramatically and is reportedly home to more than 800 static homes and caravans, making it the largest in the UK.

Council boffins have said they have imposed a “number of injunctions” to stop the camp expanding further.

Residents we spoke to however urged the Government not to do anything that could be used to weaken protections and allow more sites like Buckles Lane.

While some on the site are travellers – others on the site are understood be poorly paid manual workers who commute into London each day after soaring rents in the capital priced them out.

And others are paying peppercorn rents.

A man who has lived in the village for 57 years told The Sun: “Frankly, what goes on within those walls only they know for sure.

“I certainly don’t think it should be allowed to get bigger because essentially that group there becomes an army, which is a law to itself.

“It would be very shortsighted and naive for the government to change things to give them the edge.”

Another woman, who said she has lived nearby for 40 years, claimed the authorities themselves are scared to enter.

She told The Sun: “If Rayner’s plans go ahead to soften laws that clamp down on encampments, goodness knows what issues we will see spill into the area.”

And she said a conviction of a gun-maker earlier in the year, hammered home the need to regulate sites such as Buckles Lane.

Thomas McKenna, 60, was after running a gun-conversion workshop from a caravan there.

He was found to have been turning blank-firing weapons into lethal pistols for criminals while preparing for a so-called “race war”.

But not all locals condemned the site or the prospect of it expanding.

A woman in her 20s outside the shop at the top of Buckles Lane said: “I don’t know what people’s issues are with them [the travellers].

“As far as I am aware they are just honest hard working people who provide for their families, they get a lot of bad press.

“If you’re in the village you know they are there, so what is there you can moan about, move somewhere else if you have a problem, they keep themselves to themselves and that’s that.”

Yet concerns over the site’s size, infrastructure and safety were repeatedly raised during our visit.

One local business owner said: “I do not believe that there is anyway on earth that the site is not a serious fire hazard.”

He added: “If a fire were to start in there I think it would spread like crazy and who would be to blame for that?”

Another man, in his 50s, said: “I just don’t understand what happens with human waste.

“I have genuine health concerns about the site, is their sewage and waste being disposed of properly because the other day during the heatwave there was awful gross sewage like coming from the site.

“It is surely big enough and at capacity, the authorities will be irresponsible to allow it to get bigger as the infrastructure cannot cope.”

The concerns come as the Government moves to change England’s planning rules, with critics warning the reforms could make it easier for unauthorised traveller sites to secure permission retrospectively.

Guidance warned against environmental damage caused by unauthorised traveller sites was removed from the updated national planning policy framework – a move the Tories said would make them harder to oppose.

There has already been a 73 per cent rise in the number of unauthorised traveller caravans across England since January 2020, from 2,860 to 4,950.

Shadow Housing Secretary Sir said: “Communities across the country are being forced to tolerate lawbreaking from a small minority of travellers.

“But instead of siding with those who play by the rules, Labour are making it easier for travellers to set up illegal sites and get them rubber-stamped afterwards – often when they’ve already erected permanent structures.”

Though hit back at Cleverly.

She said: “James Cleverly is spreading fake news designed to stir up tensions in local communities. He should be ashamed of himself. The Tories left our planning system in a mess.

“This Labour government is cracking down on illegal traveller sites and it is completely misleading to suggest otherwise.”

The Government has insisted that councils will retain the powers they need under the revised rules.

A Thurrock Council spokesperson told The Sun: “Thurrock Council has a number of injunctions in place which prevent any further expansion of areas of the Buckles Lane site. Officers take action to enforce any breaches of these injunctions.

“A review of the site is currently taking place and a council project team is working alongside partners in Essex Police, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and utility companies to enhance the site and protect the wellbeing of those that live there.

“Work to resolve issues at the site is ongoing. This is a highly complex issue and involves a great many vulnerable people who the council are working to protect.

“We are in contact with representatives of the Travelling Showpeople community living in Buckles Lane and will continue working closely with them.”