A COUPLE have been taken to court in a dispute over an illegal caravan on a Herefordshire farm.

Penny and Brian Morris both entered guilty pleas to charges of breaching an enforcement notice when they appeared at Hereford Magistrates' Court earlier this month.

The notice had been issued on August 23, 2021, with the couple found to have breached it on May 28, 2022.

They had been ordered to move out of their caravan, and to remove it altogether, but failed to do so within the prescribed deadlines. 

They were each fined £50 and ordered to pay victim surcharges of £20 and prosecution costs of £250.

The planning saga began in 2020, when the couple had sought a certificate of lawfulness for a caravan at Grantsfield Farm, Kimbolton, near Leominster, claiming it had been there for longer than 10 years, giving them immunity from enforcement.

Herefordshire Council disputed this, and not only refused to grant the certificate, but issued an enforcement notice giving the couple until March 29, 2022, to move out, and until April 28, 2022, to remove the caravan.

The couple attempted to appeal this, but later withdrew their application.

A nearby resident then informed the council that the couple still appeared to be living there, and the council told the Hereford Times that legal action was "an option".

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A Herefordshire Council spokesperson said at the time: “The council is in talks with [the Morrises] in an effort to resolve the matter without resorting to prosecution.

“Because failing to comply with an enforcement notice is an offence, prosecution is an option, but we cannot comment further at this time to make sure we do not prejudice any potential future action.”

Mrs Morris had applied for prior approval for a 20-metre polytunnel “for horticultural purposes” immediately north of the caravan pitch, under what are called permitted development rights, avoiding the need for full planning permission.