Travellers who set up between Wayne Rooney & Marcus Rashford mansions given 12 months to move despite eviction battle
TRAVELLERS who set up a camp between Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford's multimillion-pound mansions have been given a year to move on - despite a long-standing eviction battle.
The footballers' neighbours in Cheshire have spent 18 months locked in a gruelling court fight after around 80 people and 13 caravans moved onto the site.
The group pitched up on land in Mobberley close to Rooney's 40-acre estate back in August 2020 - despite the council blocking plans for a traveller site after receiving 1,000 letters of objection from locals.
But Michael Maloney, who describes himself as a member of the Irish travelling community, moved onto the land anyway.
He then applied for retrospective planning permission.
The saga took another twist just a few months later when Maloney was spared a prison sentence for ignoring an injunction that barred him from developing the land.
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And following a three-day council inquiry, the travellers have been ordered to leave within 12 months.
The site is certainly a desirable one, and stands close to some of the most expensive real estate in the country.
The Rooneys' £20million 'mini Versailles' mansion features a luxury underground spa and gym, stables, a full-sized football pitch and a cinema room.
The Derby County manager, his wife and their four boys moved in four months ago just before Christmas.
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It’s been dubbed the “Morrisons Mansion” after fans pointed out its resemblance to the supermarket buildings.
Ex Man Utd player Wes Brown and his Real Housewives of Cheshire wife Leanne live nearby, while Rashford shelled out £2.5m for an eco-friendly home with its own wildlife paradise a few streets away.
The ace has yet to move in, although plans show the stunning five-bed property will feature a nine-hole golf course, an indoor swimming pool and a wine cellar.
The area was also once home to David and Victoria Beckham, Rio Ferdinand and Christiano Ronaldo.
Councillor Charlotte Leach said she's "delighted" that travellers have been ordered to move on.
"This decision gives the local community some certainty that Mr Maloney has very much reached the end of the road with this unauthorised development," she said.
"It has certainly been a long journey to get to this point, but I am confident that we are nearly at the finish line here in ensuring the site can be returned to its original condition."
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Her colleague, Cllr Mick Warren, said the situation has been "difficult".
"The council is pressing ahead with its plans for an official Gypsy and Traveller site in the borough and we hope that this will, at least, provide some scope for the traveller community to have a place to stay, albeit on a temporary basis," he said.
Planning inspector Roy Merrett said: “I need to balance the public interest in the notice being complied with against the private interests bound up in the development.
“Both the existing and proposed development of the site would amount to inappropriate development, which in both forms results in significant harm to the openness of the green belt.”
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Reports that went before the planning committee revealed the site was being occupied by "increasing numbers" of people and caravans.
In total, around 13 touring caravans are now parked on the land.
