CONCERN is growing among villagers that two illegal travellers sites are being built without planning consent.

Residents of Welham Green are becoming evermore suspicious that two developments, one in Bulls Lane and one in Fox’s Lane, are being turned into caravan sites for travellers, without permission from Welwyn Hatfield Council.

At Thunderbridge Yard in Bulls Lane, concrete has been laid down and caravans have been placed on the land. At Fox’s Lane, a gate with two horse-shape statues on top has been built.

No planning application matching these descriptions currently appear on Welwyn Hatfield Council’s planning website, although the Thunderbridge Yard does have permission for a set of stables to built there.

The developments have caused upset among villagers, who feel that travellers are not subject to the same rules and planning laws as other residents.

One resident complained: “If you so much as change your windows in your house and then applied for planning permission they (the council) would tell you to remove them, unless you’re a traveller and it’s against your human rights.”

A spokeswoman for Welwyn Hatfield Council said the council was aware of the situation and was investigating.