Bedford Borough Council has secured a High Court injunction requiring the removal of caravans and mobile homes from land in Riseley following what a judge described as a “longstanding and flagrant breach of planning control”.
The council’s planning committee heard that the order, granted at the High Court in London on 6 February, relates to land at Hill Farm, where the owners had failed to comply with an earlier enforcement notice to cease residential use.
Court ruling
Ian Johnson, service manager (heritage and compliance, told the Committee: “The injunction requires that no further unauthorised development take place and all caravans and mobile homes be removed from the land within nine months”.
The court also awarded the council its full legal costs of nearly £20,000, payable within 28 days.
Mr Johnson added that the defendants had sought permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
“But the court has not yet reached a decision on the matter,” he said.
Wider enforcement
A report presented to the committee said the court has granted a temporary stay of execution on payment of the costs.
The case was highlighted in a report to the council’s planning committee as an example of enforcement action taken during the first three months of 2026.
During this period, the council opened 70 new enforcement investigations and took formal action in 20 cases, with 213 cases still ongoing at the end of March.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
