A CAMPSITE that for two years was the illegal home of a family-of-five has been cleared in the final chapter of a bitter legal battle.
The land off Brook Street, Dedham, in an area of outstanding natural beauty, had been occupied by Asa and Gwen and their three teenage sons.
Mr and Mrs Pryke became locked in a row with Colchester Council when they moved tents and caravans onto the land, claiming they had a right to live there.
Matters came to a head when the couple both served jail terms for refusing to leave the site.
Colchester Council’s planning enforcement team has now overseen the removal of all the items left there including the last one, a buried septic tank.
The process has taken around two months.
Tim Young, the council’s portfolio holder for planning, community safety and culture, said: “This has been a sensitive and at times, emotional subject for both the Pryke family and the residents of Dedham. I’m pleased that we can finally see the situation resolved and this land return to its natural state.”
The row between Mr and Mrs Pryke and the council started in 2011 when the family lost their business and Wormingford home and they were forced to camp at the site.
Mrs Pryke argued she owned the land as it belonged to her father.
The Prykes were ordered by a County Court judge to vacate the land in 2012.
In November last year, Mr Pryke was jailed for four months for contempt of court because he ignored an order to leave the site.
Then in February this year Mrs Pryke was also sent to prison for contempt, for four months.
Until March the family had refused to move or accept council housing offers.
But then they were found a three-bedroom house on St Michael’s estate, Colchester, with the help of the council and moved in on March 5.
The Gazette tried to contact Mr and Mrs Pryke for a comment but they did not respond.
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