Marcus Rashford and Wayne and Coleen Rooney’s neighbours win long-running battle to remove Travellers that set up camp between their Cheshire mega mansions
- A family of Travellers who set up camp three fields away from the Rooneys mansion in Mobberley, Cheshire have been given 12 months to leave the site
- They had moved onto the site in 2020 and later applied for retrospective planning permission which had been denied by Cheshire East Council
- Last month an appeal to overturn the ruling was rejected and the council is instead pressing ahead with its plans for an official Gypsy and Traveller site in the borough
- The Rooneys moved into their home earlier this year, it has been dubbed the ‘Morrisons Mansion’ – due to its similarity to the supermarket chain
Marcus Rashford and Wayne Rooney’s neighbours have won a long-running battle to remove Travellers who set up camp between their Cheshire mega-mansions.
The 18-month standoff began after 13 caravans accommodating around 50 people moved onto the site in Mobberley – just three fields away from Wayne and Coleen Rooney’s 40-acre ‘Morrison’s Mansion’ – in August 2020.
The council had initially blocked plans for a Traveller site after it received 1,000 letters of objection from residents, including the lack of Covid-19 provisions and concerns that the site was a ‘hazard to the local community’ and would bring a ‘fear of increased crime’.
But Michael Maloney, a self-described member of the Irish travelling community, moved onto the land anyway and then applied for retrospective planning permission.
According to a planning report, ‘the site was occupied by increasing numbers of people and caravans, with the site eventually comprising 13 touring caravans, accommodating between 40 and 50 people’, leading to the council’s court injunction to stop any building work.
Maloney was then handed a suspended prison sentence for ignoring an injunction barring him from developing the land, and a three-day public inquiry was held last month, with the Maloney family appealing the council’s decision.
His appeal has since been dismissed and the council is instead pressing ahead with its plans for an official Gypsy and Traveller site in the borough.
Planning inspectors have now given the Maloney family 12 months to leave the land, which sits between former Manchester United player Wes Brown and his Real Housewives Of Cheshire star wife Leanne’s home, and the Rooneys’ property – which features a luxury underground spa and gym, a cinema room, 40 acres of land with stables and a full-size football pitch.
Moving on: Travellers who set up camp next to Wayne and Coleen Rooney’s £20 million mansion in Cheshire have been ordered to leave by the council (pictured: the Rooney’s home)
Relief: The news will no doubt come as a relief to the Rooneys, who moved into their £20 million Cheshire home – dubbed the ‘Morrison’s mansion’ due to its similarity to the supermarket chain buildings – earlier this year
Taking his time: England ace Marcus, 24, is yet to move into his new £2.5 million eco-friendly home after he began construction on his wildlife paradise in 2020
Plans: The couple began building their six-bedroom mega mansion in 2017 but it was plagued by delays, particularly at the start of the coronavirus pandemic lockdown when building ground to a halt entirely
Mobberley Ward councillor Charlotte Leach told MailOnline that she was ‘delighted’ by the result.
She said: ‘I am delighted that the appeal has been dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate. This decision gives the local community some certainty that Mr Maloney has very much reached the end of the road with his unauthorised development.
‘His behaviour has caused significant distress and upset to residents since he moved on site in August 2020 and as a result of his activity, he was found guilty of contempt of court for continuing to build illegally despite an injunction that was in place to prevent any further destruction of the land.
This decision from the Planning Inspectorate sends a clear message that as a community we will not accept someone riding roughshod over our planning laws and treating us with contempt.’
Family: The married couple will share their luxury pad with their sons, Kai, 12, Klay, eight, Kit, five, and Cass, three
The news will no doubt come as a relief to the Rooneys, who moved into their £20 million Cheshire home – dubbed the ‘Morrison’s mansion’ due to its similarity to the supermarket chain buildings – earlier this year.
The married couple share their luxury pad, which they began building in 2017, with their sons, Kai, 12, Klay, eight, Kit, five, and Cass, three.
Meanwhile England ace Marcus, 24, is yet to move into his new £2.5 million eco-friendly home after he began construction on his wildlife paradise in 2020.
The Manchester United star’s five-bedroom property will include a nine-hole golf course and, in planning proposals, ecology experts have produced ‘biodiversity enhancement measures’ to look after the natural habitat.
Plans for the house include an open-plan kitchen, study and dining room, while it will also feature a basement complete with an indoor swimming pool, wine cellar and a gym.
The first floor will contain the property’s five bedrooms, while a two-storey apartment is also under construction as a guesthouse – linked to the main house by a passageway.
A report to the council adds that the property will be ‘enhanced for bats and breeding birds’.
The surrounding villages in Cheshire are popular with players from Manchester City and Manchester United, including Raheem Sterling, John Stones and Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, as well as Liverpool and Everton players Jordan Pickford and Jordan Henderson.
The area, known as Cheshire’s Golden Triangle, was also formally home to David and Victoria Beckham, Rio Ferdinand and Christiano Ronaldo.
In the making: The Manchester United star’s five-bedroom property will include a nine-hole golf course and, in planning proposals, ecology experts have produced ‘biodiversity enhancement measures’ to look after the natural habitat
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