BULLDOZERS could be sent in to demolish a temporary building four years after it was illegally put up.


The structure at the former Old Foresters sports ground in Abridge Road, Theydon Bois, where an Olympic campsite has been set up, was the subject of several court hearings after it was built without planning permission in 2008.


Epping Forest District Council said the building spoiled the look of the Green Belt land it is on and it took landowners Parkeng Ltd to court last year, where they were fined £1,385 for not taking it down.

The council repeatedly asked the company and developer James Harris to take the building down, but was criticised by residents for not doing enough.


It is now planning to invoke powers to remove the building itself, similar to those used by Basildon District Council to clear the Dale Farm traveller site last year. 


Frank Sparks, 68, who lives in Forest Road, opposite the Old Foresters, said action from the council was long overdue.


“They’ve been leaving it and using it – they’ve got TV aerials and lights in at night.

“To me it’s a joke. There’s been law enforcement and it counts for nothing.


“You sort of resign yourself to the fact that these people do what they want.”


The council is expected to vote to intervene and pull the buildings down at a meeting on Wednesday.


But David McKelvey, chairman of the Theydon Bois Action Group, which has put pressure on the council to remove the building, said he was not convinced any action would be taken.

“Why didn’t they do anything last year?” he added. “The whole thing is one huge farce.

“Every time (the council) does anything there, they build in delays.”


Although Mr Sparks said he had not been disturbed by the campsite since the start of the Olympics, Mr McKelvey said members had reported noise and light pollution there.

In a report ahead of Wednesday's meeting, a council planning officer said: “The council has attempted on a number of occasions to gain the cooperation of the owner and occupier to remedy the harm caused and has successfully prosecuted for failure to comply with the notices.


“Taking direct action to remedy the harm caused by the continuation of the unlawful use is considered to be proportionate and expedient.”

The Guardian has asked Mr Harris to comment.