The High Court kept the Sawbridgeworth injunction and its arrest powers, and the council has served a notice to restore the site. Trial after 1 January.

The High Court order stopping development on land at Sheering Mill Lane in Sawbridgeworth will now run until a full trial, and that trial will not be heard until 2027. East Herts Council has also served an enforcement notice requiring the land to be put back as it was.

Mr Justice Lavender continued the injunction at a hearing on 15 September, with the power of arrest still attached. The council published the sealed order on its own website the same afternoon. The defendants did not appear (East Herts Council, page updated 15 September at 15:55).

This paper reported the first two orders and the clearing of the site on 30 August in Sheering Mill Lane: site cleared, hearing 15 September.

What the council has now done that it had not done before

The line in the council’s statement that had not appeared before is short and it matters: “The council has also served an enforcement notice requiring the landowners to restore the site to its former condition.”

An injunction stops things happening. An enforcement notice is the instrument that requires work already done to be undone, and it is separate from the court case. Anyone served with one has a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate before it takes effect, and the notice itself has to state a compliance period (planning enforcement, GOV.UK).

The council has not published the notice, its compliance period or the date by which any appeal would have to be lodged, and none of that was on the district’s planning register when we looked today. Until it is, the practical effect of the notice cannot be stated, and we are not going to guess at it.

What the order of 15 September actually says

The order runs “with immediate effect and until further order”, which means there is no expiry date on it. It bars development on the land in breach of planning control and any preparatory works, and then lists specific acts. On the land, without the council’s written permission, nobody may:

  • carry out any further development, or clear any further land
  • lay hardstanding, bitumen or gravel
  • erect any fencing or gates
  • construct any road, or create any further access
  • remove or damage any hedgerow
  • install any camera or CCTV equipment
  • bring on, keep or use any plant or machinery capable of developing the land
  • bring on or station any caravans, vehicles or mobile homes
  • permit occupation of any caravan or mobile home already there
  • install a septic tank, electric cable, water pipe or other infrastructure

Breaching that paragraph carries a power of arrest under section 27 of the Police and Justice Act 2006. Anyone arrested under it has to be brought before a judge within 24 hours, and the arresting officer is told to inform the council as soon as reasonably practicable.

The dates that now matter

Key dates in the Sheering Mill Lane injunction, August 2026 to October 2027 Timeline of the East Hertfordshire District Council injunction over land at Sheering Mill Lane, Sawbridgeworth. On 29 August 2026 a temporary stop notice was served and the first High Court injunction granted. On 31 August an amended injunction with a power of arrest was served at 12.30am and the site was cleared. On 15 September the High Court continued the injunction until further order, removed two named defendants and added four. By 4pm on 25 September 2026 the parties must give the court their dates to avoid. The final hearing will be the first available date after 1 January 2027, with a time estimate of one day. If that hearing slips past 15 September 2027 the order is to be reviewed at a hearing no later than 8 October 2027. From a stop notice in August to a trial that will not be heard until 2027 29 Aug 2026 Stop notice and first injunction 31 Aug 2026 Amended order served 12.30am, site cleared 15 Sep 2026 Continued until further order 25 Sep 2026 Dates to avoid due by 4pm After 1 Jan 2027 Final hearing, one day listed 8 Oct 2027 Review, only if the trial slips Solid markers are fixed. Outlined markers depend on the court's listing. Source: High Court order of 15 September 2026, claim KB-2026-003361, published by East Herts Council. Graphic by Bishop's Stortford News
The injunction has no expiry date. The case behind it will not be tried for at least three and a half months.

The order lists the claim for a final hearing on the first available date after 1 January 2027, with a time estimate of one day. Before that:

  • By 4pm on Friday 25 September 2026, the parties must give the court their dates to avoid.
  • Eight weeks before the final hearing, both sides file the evidence they intend to rely on.
  • Six weeks before, any evidence in reply.
  • Four weeks before, agreed directions to trial.

There is also a long-stop. If the final hearing is adjourned or delayed beyond 15 September 2027, the order is to be reviewed at a hearing no later than 8 October 2027, unless the council tells the court it no longer wants it continued, in which case it expires against the two “persons unknown” defendants.

Costs were reserved to the judge who tries the claim.

Who the order binds

The order is made against two classes of “persons unknown”, one covering anyone carrying out or facilitating development on the land and one covering anyone occupying it, plus a list of named defendants. The judge removed two named defendants from the order on 15 September and added four. We are not naming any of them: they are private individuals, no criminal charge has been brought, and nothing in the order is a finding against any of them.

Two further requirements are worth knowing. If the council identifies anyone currently inside “persons unknown”, it has to apply to join that person as a named defendant as soon as reasonably practicable. And the named defendants must give the council five working days’ written notice before they transfer any interest in the land, or grant any lease, sub-lease or licence over it, with details of the new party.

That second clause is aimed at a specific risk in this kind of case: the land changing hands quietly while the order is running. The land itself is registered under two titles, HD418207 and HD623130.

The council’s account of August

The council’s own page sets out the sequence it followed, and it has not changed since the last time we reported it:

  • It became aware of works early on Saturday 29 August after reports from local residents, with heavy vehicles and construction equipment on a site that has no planning permission for development.
  • It served a temporary stop notice shortly after 10.45am that day, and applied to the High Court the same day. The first injunction was served on site at about 10.30pm.
  • Work continued, so it went back to court. An amended injunction was granted and served at about 12.30am on Monday 31 August, carrying the power of arrest. Police entered the site and everyone with unauthorised access left peacefully. No arrests were necessary.

What it means for you

  • If you live near the site, the council’s own statement page is still the only place the documents are published. It carries the sealed order of 15 September as a PDF.
  • To report further activity on the site, email Planning.Enforcement@eastherts.gov.uk. For anything criminal or an immediate risk to safety, call 999, or 101 for non-emergencies. A planning breach on its own is not a police matter, but breaching paragraph 4 of this order is now an arrestable act.
  • Do not expect a quick resolution. The next fixed date in the case is an administrative one on 25 September. The substantive hearing is in 2027.
  • The enforcement notice is the thing to watch, not the injunction. It is the route by which the site gets restored, and it comes with an appeal that could run separately from the court case.

For other applications and decisions across the district, see our Bishop’s Stortford planning news page.

Sources