MARTIN Clunes has lost a three-year planning battle to prevent travellers from building a caravan site next to his home.
The Wuthering Heights star has fought a long-running war with New Age Travellers Theo Langton and Ruth McGill near Beaminster, Dorset.
The Wuthering Heights actor has strongly objected to the plansCredit: BNPS
Neighbours Theo Langton and Ruth McGill hope to set up a permanent woodland encampmentCredit: BNPS
The ‘hippie’ neighbours want to turn their woodland plot and caravan near his £5million pad into an official travellers’ site.
The couple have lived in the 45ft by 16ft mobile home on a temporarily rolling licence for more than 20 years.
They applied for planning permission for continued use of land as a private residential traveller site for “sole use of the applicants and family.”
The plans include use of the erected barn as a dayroom, workshop and store, one mobile home, a touring caravan and a mobile van.
Clunes described the neighbour’s attempts to classify it as one was “cynical” and “dishonest.”
But councillors backed the application for permanent planning permission.
Beaminster Town Council, the ward councillor, Dorset Council’s gypsy and traveller officers and the church all backed the application.
The motion to approve permanent planning was passed on a 7-2 vote.
The permanent site is slated to be put up just 300 yards from the 64-year-old’s farmhouse.
The Doc Martin actor and his producer wife Philippa Braithwaite have lived at their home just a few yards away since 2007.
The celeb couple objected argued the plans would cause harm to the landscape, which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Steel said Clunes and his wife would be happy to help Langton and McGill find an alternative traveller site to live on.
Clunes had previously said in a letter that his neighbours could not be classified as travellers simply “because they visit festivals to sell items”.
The star said: “It cannot be concluded that the applicants are persons of nomadic habit of life due to them visiting music and other festivals each year to sell items and help set them up.
The plot owned by Ruth and Theo is 300 yards from martin’s homeCredit: BNPS
Clunes has lost the planning battle after three yearsCredit: BNPS
“This would mean that many, if not all, stallholders at such festivals, as well as the roadies who travel with the festival organisers, retailers and bands would be classed as gypsies and travellers within the planning definition, which clearly is not the case.”
Other residents had rallied behind the TV star to oppose the plans.
Another local, Diana Clarke, who lives nearby, said in a written objection: “Many people in Dorset would love to develop their own land to accommodate their own families but come up against strict planning permission.
“Mr Langton has questionable new age traveller status and should therefore be subject to the same planning rules as anyone else seeking to develop their own land.”
Another local, Kathryn Hoskins, said that Mr Langton had connected to their water supply.
She pointed out: “I have a spring in my field where I source my water and currently Mr Langton draws his water from that source, I turn a blind eye and have no problem as it doesn’t affect the availability of water for me but I would not like to see a travellers site grow in anyway and more demand put on this supply.”
The celeb’s neighbours will now be able to go ahead with their developmentCredit: BNPS
Clunes said the plans would cause harm to the landscape, which is an Area of Outstanding Natural BeautyCredit: BNPS
Hoskins also raised concerns that if permission was granted Langton and McGill would sell off land for more travellers to move onto.
Several residents supported the travellers case with dozens of letters in favour of the plans received.
Betty Billington – who lives in the area – said in a written objection: “The main objector (Mr Clunes) bought his property knowing that this family already occupied the land for residential use.”
In a statement at Dorset Council’s meeting, another local pointed out that Mr Langton “volunteered for many years as a community resilience warden with the town council, helping to create a local resilience plan, helping to run the popular and successful Christmas lights event and much more.”
A planning officer’s report, submitted to the committee before the meeting, cited Convention 8 of the European Court of Human Rights.
This guarantees a right to respect for private and family life.
Planning officer Bob Burden said: “The site is the family’s home and whilst their children are now older, they clearly have a need for a settled base.
“Refusal of the application could therefore result in the loss of the family’s home and so be an interference with their rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.”
The Sun has contacted Dorset Council and Martin Clunes‘ representatives for comment.
Langton and McGill applied for their planning permission in 2022Credit: BNP
