Illegal road appears on Green Belt land near Amersham

At some point at the beginning of October, an unknown person accessed an area of agricultural land to the west of New Road in Coleshill near Amersham.

Soon after, a bulldozer and large lorries laden with 'an assortment of broken bricks, concrete, metal, plastic and other rubbish' were on site.

Several items were scattered along the makeshift road (Image: Carl Jackson)Many of those in the area contacted the Conservative councillor for Chalfont St Giles Carl Jackson about the issue, expressing their worries.

Councillor Jackson visited the site on numerous occasions after he reported the issue to the Environment Agency (as a potential waste crime) and to Buckinghamshire Council’s Planning Enforcement Team (in case building the track was a breach of planning rules).

It has since been revealed that plots of land in Coleshill can be purchased via Rightmove for around £5,000, with the councillor revealing that ‘several plots on the field have been sold to different buyers of various nationalities’.

The makeshift road along New Road in Coleshill appeared in October (Image: Carl Jackson)On October 21, around 25 people attended the monthly Coleshill Parish Council meeting to openly discuss their grievances, many of whom wanted to express their concern about the new track being built.

Councillor Jackson told the Free Press: “Green Belt land is precious and should be protected.  

“It was very worrying to see bulldozers and HGVs turn up out of the blue, especially when the material being dumped on the land appeared to include shards of metal and other trade waste.

“I am grateful to Buckinghamshire Council’s Planning Enforcement Team for intervening quickly to stop the work.”

A Bucks Council Planning Enforcement Officer visited the site at the end of last month and contacted the person carrying out the works, who has since confirmed that he owns two parcels of land in the large field.

He wishes to have access via a new track.

The Planning Enforcement officer has since carried out another site visit to the land in the last week, where they took photos, spent time walking the length of the track, and checked the materials used as hardcore for the track surface.

At the start of November, Buckinghamshire Council formally advised the person building the road that he would require planning permission and that all work on the land must stop.

Lots of items were left in the area (Image: Carl Jackson)In addition to this, the Environment Agency has now informed Buckinghamshire Council that it is not concerned by the materials used to build the track.

Heavy machinery that was spotted in the area has also been moved, and the PEO [planning enforcement officer] will make councillor Jackson aware if a planning application is submitted for the construction of the track.

Where the road is based in Coleshill near Amersham (Image: Carl Jackson)He continued: “Huge thanks are also due to Coleshill residents who sent me updates about activity on the site. 

“That crucial evidence helped the council to take swift action.”

“We will now have to wait and see if a planning application is submitted for the track. 

"I am keeping a very close eye on the situation.”