A building boss who earlier this year appealed for huge volumes of construction material before the May Bank Holiday has now been connected to an alleged traveller “land grab” in which a wildlife-rich site was bulldozed over the weekend.
Karl Kavanagh, 48, is the owner of KK Construction, a Hampshire-based firm that advertises a wide range of building services, including groundworks, driveways and house extensions.
Back in May, Kavanagh used a commercial Facebook group to seek more than 100 lorry loads of aggregate for delivery to projects in Horley, Surrey, and Horsham, West Sussex, in the run-up to the May Bank Holiday.
Asked at the time where the material would end up, he said he did not know, while adding that he could not rule out the possibility it might be used on traveller sites.
The MoS can now disclose that vehicles belonging to his construction company were spotted over the August Bank Holiday in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, where diggers and work crews moved onto a field on Friday after council staff had left for the day.
Furious residents set up a protest camp as tarmac was laid and fences put up without planning permission.
Vehicles owned by Karl Kavanagh, 48, (pictured) who runs Hampshire-based building firm KK Construction, were filmed being escorted from the Sawbridgeworth site by police
HERTFORDSHIRE: In footage posted on Facebook, residents can be heard cheering as the machinery owned by KK Construction was driven away
HERTFORDSHIRE: A police officer is seen talking to Karl Kavanagh (left) and a traveller at the site in Sawbridgeworth
An emergency High Court order was issued at 10.30pm on Saturday, temporarily preventing any further development of the site or occupation by caravans.
But construction work continued on Sunday and into Monday morning, as hundreds of residents staged peaceful protests beside the site.
The council then returned to court and secured a strengthened injunction, including powers of arrest for anyone who breached it, which was served on those occupying the land on Monday.
Footage shows residents cheering as Mr Kavanagh’s machinery was finally driven away from the site.
The businessman was previously found to be advertising for 100 loads of crushed aggregate for a development in the Horley area of Surrey over the Saturday and Sunday of the last May Bank Holiday.
He followed this up with another post the next day, saying tipper lorries were needed in Horsham from Saturday to Monday at £200 a load.
At the time, Mr Kavanagh claimed not to know what the material was for.
He said: ‘I’m a subcontractor. I don’t know what it’s for. I’m just trying to organise it for a main contractor we do a lot of building work for. I was just asked to put up the posts as a registered building company.’
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HERTFORDSHIRE: An aerial view of the illegal travellers camp in Sawbridgeworth that was foiled by protesters
He said he could not rule out the loads being destined for traveller sites, as some firms would be willing to provide the materials ‘if money was involved’. He refused to provide contact details for the main contractor.
Horsham Council and Reigate and Banstead Council were alerted to the posts, with the latter launching an immediate investigation.
There was no apparent development in the Horley area over the weekend in question. But at nearby West Chiltington in West Sussex, heavy machinery moved onto a field on Friday.
Work continued throughout the weekend and, despite the presence of both council officers and police, a caravan site was developed near the world-renowned Nyetimber sparkling wine estate.
Mr Kavanagh could not be conclusively linked to the unauthorised development at West Chiltington. And when he was asked about the site in Sawbridgeworth, he initially claimed not to know his vans were there.
After being informed that he had been pictured at the site, he declined to make any further comment.
The developments follow a trend that has seen travellers swoop in to lay pitches on the Friday night before bank holiday weekends.
This gives unscrupulous developers near free rein to do what they like until Tuesday morning, by which time concrete has often been laid and caravans moved in.
WEST SUSSEX: In May, travellers paved over a field near the world-renowned Nyetimber sparkling wine estate
ESSEX: Construction work continued at an illegal traveller site on greenbelt land over the bank holiday weekend
HERTFORDSHIRE: Local residents gather at the site of the land grab in Sawbridgeworth over the weekend
HERTFORDSHIRE: Wooden posts and a caravan had been left at the site when the Daily Mail visited on Wednesday
Planning permission is then sought retrospectively, prompting a lengthy and costly legal process.
KK Construction has an active social media page which regularly shows photos of projects it has completed across the South East of England, alongside glowing testimonials from customers.
Mr Kavanagh is a director of 15 other active companies involved in construction or property development. Most give the registered office address as a detached bungalow that sold for £530,000 early last year.
East Herts Council said of the situation in Sawbridgeworth: ‘We will continue to work closely with Hertfordshire Police and our other partners to monitor the site and prevent any further unauthorised works.’