A four-year row between neighbours over a fence has finally been resolved after a court ordered for the fence to be removed, once and for all.
Andrew William Fields and his partner Anja were embroiled in an argument with their neighbours Michael Blackmore and Sandra Ann Blackmore for months, finally taking them to court in order to get a categorical decision over who was right.
The row centred on the obstruction by a fence on the road between their properties.
In January, the court ordered to pay his neighbour, Mr Fields, £10,000 - as well as removing the fence, finding the structure to be illegal.
Their row dates back to 2018, when Mr. Fields applied for planning permission to convert part of Bradford Barn (where he lived) into office space with parking, Devon Live reported.
Mr. Blackmore fought against this, as he said that it would cause car lights to shine into his bedroom from the car park, particularly in the winter, and explained that the proposal would affect "our property's existing amenity and privacy."
He also complained that the beekeeping group run by Mr. Fields used a "shipping container" on the property which had been used to store chemicals.
Mr. Blackmore's decision to erect a fence in 2020 escalated the argument with Mr. Field's agent saying it was "placed deliberately and maliciously to block a well-established access on my client's property, intended solely to create a dangerous hazard at the entrance to Bradford Farm."
Following the court's decision, Mr. Fields said: "Mr. Blackmore has complained that I host the Mid Devon Bees beekeeping club and requested that the beehives were removed; they weren’t."
“He complained that last year I dug a lake that was given a government grant and approved by the Environment Agency and the Devon Wildlife Trust."
“He complained when we dug our front garden as we got a differ in to move the earth as it needed to be levelled out. I would like to point out that we are a registered farm and are allowed to dig in our garden," Mr. Fields said.
Mr. Fields added that he and his neighbours had signed an agreement not to create a nuisance or erect a fence on the farm's boundary, but Mr. Blackmore did not adhere to this, leading to the court case.
"All Anja and I are doing is simply getting on with our lives, turning our smallholding into a nature reserve."
