Herefordshire Council to take legal action over travellers' camp
The council is not disclosing details of the case
Last updated 25th Sep 2025
Herefordshire Council has confirmed it is taking travellers who appear to be refusing to move on from a prominent county spot to court. But it is not disclosing details of the case.
In April the council issued a Direction To Leave to residents of what it called the unauthorised encampment on land which it owns beside A44/A49 roundabout southeast of Leominster.
It had received “multiple complaints from residents regarding the burning of materials at the site and the general condition of the area”, where “disruptive activities” were taking place, and which “will need to be cleared at Herefordshire Council’s expense”, it said at the time.
There would be “subsequent court proceedings” if the direction was not complied with, it warned.
A Freedom of Information to the council asked on August 13 to see all correspondence between it and the travellers this year relating to the Direction To Leave.
Following clarification the council has now said that it regards this information as exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, as it qualifies under “legal professional (litigation) privilege”.
“The matter in question is the subject of ongoing court proceedings, which are still live at the time of writing,” the council’s information governance officer Ruth Davies said.
“The correspondence between the council and residents was created and exchanged for the purpose of prospective litigation.
“If the requested information were to be disclosed to the world at large, at this stage during ongoing proceedings, this would be prejudicial to those matters.”
The number of vehicles at the site, which can partly be seen from the adjacent A49, appears to have grown over the past year and a half, and indeed since the issuing of the Direction to Leave in April.