Farmer Loses Decade-Long Legal Battle to Plough His Own Fields
A farmer’s long fight to cultivate his land ends as courts rule against him
Croyde Hoe, North Devon, Andrew Cooper, Natural England, Archaeology, Court Case
Croyde Hoe: So, there’s this farmer named Andrew Cooper who just lost a huge legal battle. He wanted to plough his fields, but they’re packed with ancient artifacts. Talk about a bummer!
For over 20 years, he got paid to keep his land uncultivated under an environmental scheme. But when he decided to grow cereal crops again, Natural England stepped in and said, “Not so fast!”
They found some cool stuff on his land, like flint arrowheads and even a D-Day pillbox. It’s like a history treasure trove, but it’s also why he can’t farm there.
Despite getting fined and facing court costs, Andrew kept ploughing. He was determined, even after a judge initially said Natural England couldn’t stop him. But then the Court of Appeal reversed that decision.
Before all this, he was farming the land as arable but switched to pasture in 1992. When he wanted to go back to crops in 2012, Natural England said no way, citing the historical significance of the land.
He tried to fight back, but his appeals didn’t go his way. Even after pleading guilty to some charges, he kept at it, ploughing more fields. Natural England wasn’t having it and took him back to court.
In 2023, they sought an injunction to stop him for good. The judge initially ruled in his favor, but that didn’t last long. The higher court decided Natural England had every right to step in.
In the end, the court agreed that Andrew was just going to keep farming unless they put a stop to it. It’s a wild story of a farmer caught between his dreams and the past lurking in his fields.