With its rolling fields, sprawling orchards and distinctive oast houses, Kent has long been celebrated as the Garden of England.But in recent years, the county has acquired a rather less welcome reputation – as a hotspot for unauthorised traveller developments. An epicentre of the phenomenon has been the hamlet of Sandway, where five illegal sites have appeared in just nine months. Villagers say the spate of building work has dramatically altered the character of their local area and threatens to hammer local house prices. They are far from alone. Across Kent, at least five more unauthorised developments have made headlines so far this year.In most cases, travellers have purchased land before building on it without planning permission.Retrospective planning applications are then submitted to councils. Even if these fail, legal proceedings to clear the sites are long and costly, allowing families to live on them, or rent out caravans to tenants, for months or even years.Kent has long had a high population of travellers and gypsies due to demand for seasonal agricultural labour.According to the latest census, 5,405 people in Kent identified as Gipsy or Irish Traveller, with Maidstone, Swale and Ashford ranking among the top five English local authorities for the proportion of residents from Gipsy or Irish Traveller backgrounds.