A judge has ordered a Traveller family to leave an unlawful encampment in Darwen and put the land back to its original state.
Planning a night out? See the live What’s On in Blackburn calendar.
Judge Catherine Howells, sitting at Liverpool County Court, granted Blackburn with Darwen Council’s application for a full injunction after a two-day hearing.
The family has been given nine months, until January 15, 2027, to fully vacate the site close to Whitehall Park and carry out all remedial work.
That includes removing all caravans, buildings, structures and hardcore, as well as reseeding the land.
The defendants in the case are Mr Thomas Young, Mr James Young, Mr John Young and Mr Jack Young. If they miss the deadline, they could face an unlimited fine, imprisonment and/or seizure of assets.
The court also allowed the council’s application for costs.
The family has 21 days to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
A spokesperson for Blackburn with Darwen Council said:
This has been a long and incredibly complex case which has required significant resources from right across the council and our partners too, including unprecedented court action.
It came after a large number of complaints from residents about the encampment, which breaches national planning policy and is unlawful.
We welcome Judge Howells’ decision today and will continue to monitor the site carefully.
Background
National planning policy prevents designated open countryside from being used for residential purposes.
The land, next to the park and Darwen Old Cemetery, is designated as open countryside with a legal use of agriculture.
The Young family moved onto the site in May 2024. The council says they bought the land without first checking whether their proposal for a Traveller encampment would be acceptable and before trying to secure planning permission.
After complaints from residents and concerns about the unauthorised development, the council’s Planning Enforcement Team issued a Temporary Stop Notice.
When works continued, that was replaced by a Full Stop Notice and Enforcement Notice in July 2024.
The Full Stop Notice prevented engineering works, including utility services such as water and electricity, and the importing and depositing of waste material for hard services. It also prevented the unlawful residential use of the land and required the removal of all caravans and associated works.
The Enforcement Notice said the land had to be returned to its previous condition.
The family stayed on the site and submitted a retrospective planning application seeking a change of use from agriculture to a Gypsy caravan site, including six plots — each with a static and two mobile caravans — plus a utility block, porous stone hard standing and associated fencing.
The council refused the application on five grounds: the principle of the development; the detrimental impact on the highway network, including public rights of way; visual impact; ecological issues; and lack of assessment of the impact on landscape character.
The Youngs appealed to the Planning Inspectorate.
Meanwhile, after evidence of breaches of the Full Stop Notice, the council sought an interim injunction, which was granted at an emergency hearing at Manchester Civil Court in July 2025.
A public hearing was then held at Blackburn Town Hall in September last year, where a Planning Inspector heard evidence from the council and the applicant, as well as representations from residents supporting both sides.
The Inspector dismissed the appeal, saying there was no basis for planning permission to be granted. He ruled that all caravans must be removed and the land reinstated, and to allow time to find alternative accommodation extended the deadline to January 5, 2026.
Despite that ruling, the family was still living on the site on that date, so the council sought a full injunction at a hearing in January, which was adjourned after an application by the Young family.
Following this week’s two-day hearing, Judge Howells has now granted the full injunction.
This means the family must leave the site and restore it to open countryside by January 15, 2027.
