by A farmer has said he would rather “die in prison” than pay fines for tearing down a border wall he built more than 40 years ago.
Ron Knight said he has spent six years in a “living nightmare” since receiving a planning enforcement notice from Somerset Council to remove part of a concrete wall to allow access to his land.
The 88-year-old built the wall himself in 1973, but when he tore it down in 2017 he was told it was “historic”, was in a conservation area and required planning permission.
He missed the deadline to appeal and has now appeared in court four times, racking up thousands of pounds in fines he says he cannot pay.
In October, a judge told Knight he would face 45 days in jail unless he rebuilt the wall and paid all fines.
But the pensioner, who said his pleas have fallen on deaf ears, said he would rather be locked up “if it’s the last thing he does” than admit defeat.
He said: “It’s getting us all down. We’re all sick, tired and fed up. No matter what we say, they don’t realize it.”
“Defending myself and being prepared to go to jail is the only way I see for someone to come to their senses.
“If going to prison is the last thing I do on this earth, I will do it to stop this madness.”
Knight moved to the village of Milborne Port in Somerset in 1957 and bought Cannon Court Farm with his two brothers about five years later.
When he sold it to retire to Devon in 1990, he was left with six acres of land and three acres of allotments.
But he said neighbors claimed he had “blocked access” to their land and their “right of way” through their own developments, leaving him no choice but to remove part of the wall so he could access and maintain the area.
He added: “To put it politely, it’s been a bloody hassle. It’s been going on for six years now.”
“After we sold, we decided to keep six acres of land and some parcels. We had the right of way to go through there; it was the only way in.”
“Then it was completely blocked. I had two grandsons help me tear down part of the wall. We took out the foundation and made a space so we could get out with the tractors and everything.”
“I don’t know who reported us to the council, but I received a letter to say we had broken the law by digging up a conservation area – I didn’t know anything about a conservation area and neither did my two brothers.
“We had rebuilt that wall in 1973. They tried to argue that we had torn down a historic wall. But if it is a historic wall, why didn’t it go back exactly as it was before?
“It’s now two feet lower than it was. It’s just a flat piece of concrete.”
Knight, who has lived with his wife Jean, 81, in Bampton, Devon, since selling the farm, said they could be forced to sell their house if costs continue to rise.
He said: “My argument is that if that wall was ours in 1973, it is ours now. Why are they making such a volatile fuss? All we did was tear down part of it to make an entrance to our property that we had no other way of get in.
“I have been to court four times about it and have been fined over £1,000 each time. I will now be taken to court again on January 22, but I have no intention of paying any fine. I would rather go to prison than pay it.” . And i mean it.
“I’m not going to pay for it, why should I if it belongs to me? I don’t care what they say or do.
His daughter Linda Knight said fines have reached £3,200 and accused the council of “victimisation”.
She said: “My dad is 88 and has health problems. He has a pacemaker and this has implications for his and my mum’s health. He is really stressed about it and it has been like a dark cloud hanging over us for the last six years. years.”
“They have nothing, and my father said he would be willing to spend time in jail before paying it. The council said he wouldn’t go that far, but he won’t pay the fine, so I don’t know what the alternative is.
“They just don’t want to listen. It feels like victimization. At the end of the day, they took down part of a wall that belongs to them to take care of a piece of conservation land. They don’t want it to be taken care of? How? If they didn’t think we could to do that?
“It’s about time they showed some heart and compassion.”
‘Unjustified harm’
Somerset Council defended its actions by saying it was in the public interest to pursue the matter, arguing that Knight had caused “unjustified harm” to a protected local structure.
A spokesperson said: “The retrospective planning application asked for the same requirements as the enforcement notice.
“We have applied the convenience test and the public interest test at every step of this case.
“We consider that the creation of the access, which requires the demolition or removal of a large section of the historic stone wall and associated engineering work to the land behind, does not safeguard the established character of the conservation area and has caused undue harm to a designated area. heritage asset.”
What are the rules on border walls in the UK?
According to the Homeowners Alliance, you can find out which fence or boundary wall is your responsibility by first looking at the deeds to your property, which should show the boundaries.
If you cannot find your scale plan in the documentation you received when you purchased the property, you can obtain a copy of the title deeds for your property from the Land Registry.
Once you have the plan, you can see if there are any ‘T’s on any of the boundaries, the HOA says, indicating ownership and responsibility for maintaining the wall or fence.
“If the ‘T’ matches another ‘T’ on the boundary so that it looks like an ‘H’, this shows that the boundary is a party wall/fence,” the HOA guide says.
“This means a joint responsibility for the maintenance of the wall/fence.”
According to Novello Surveyors advice, under the Party Walls Act, certain work can be carried out on boundary walls, including thickening or raising them, repairing or demolishing them and rebuilding them where necessary.
But he adds: “However, keep in mind that this depends on the notifications being issued – your neighbor can’t just start working on a boundary line whenever they want.
“Instead, they must set out what they intend to do and notify you and any other adjoining property owners in writing at least two months before starting any work on the party wall. While you cannot prevent work being carried out that is permitted under the Law, “Litigation may be brought in response to the notice. “To do this, it will be necessary for a party wall expert to evaluate the situation and issue a report that determines how the works will be carried out.”
