I’ll fight, says man slapped with biggest-ever planning fine

Nigel Smith, 57, was handed the massive fine - one of the biggest in UK history - by a judge last Monday and told that if he failed to pay it within 30 days he would be jailed for two years.

But Smith said he had been treated “unfairly” by planners over the site of Manor Farm, in rural Moss, north of Doncaster, where he claims to be a tenant, and said he planned to appeal.

Manor Farm has a chequered history and Smith told the Yorkshire Post he had become involved in the site after contacting its owner Nina Clayton, the widow of millionaire Ralph Winstanley.

He said he had been “born and brought up” in the area, attending school in a nearby village and had returned to the area looking for a place to build a home for himself and his family.

He said: “I was looking for a property in the area and as part of the search we became aware of this property being derelict and we were aware of the family situation.”

Smith said he reached an agreement that he would buy the farm for £390,000 once Mr Winstanley’s estate had been finalised and he arranged that he could live on the site in the interim as a tenant.

That was in 2007 and as a result of legal wranglings over Mr Winstanley’s will the deal has not been completed, but Smith has demolished the house and other buildings and brought in caravans.

They, and a number of storage containers he uses for his business interests, which include butchery, were the subject of action from Doncaster Council planners after neighbours complained.

He has twice been prosecuted for ignoring council orders to remove the temporary buildings, with the second case leading to Sheffield Crown Court, the huge financial penalty and jail threat.

Smith has planning permission for a new house and agricultural building on the site, but claims he has been unable to move forward with his plans because of the “hassle” over the Winstanley will.

He said that meant he had been forced to retain the caravans and other buildings in contravention of the council’s instructions in order to have “somewhere for my family to live and carry on my business”.

He said: “I have been advised by lawyers that the fine and sentence is manifestly excessive and I am confident of winning an appeal. I am the victim of a family feud.

“I also plan to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate over the way Doncaster Council has dealt with my applications to retain the temporary buildings until I own the site, and expect to win.”

Sentencing Smith on Monday Mr Recorder Michael Hubbard described Smith’s actions as a “flagrant breach” of planning law and the Mayor of Doncaster Peter Davies said he was “pleased” with the result.

Smith. who also runs a money-lending firm, admitted he had broken the rules, but said he was forced into it by the legal circumstances of the site, which Ms Clayton is now refusing to sell to him.

He also freely admitted that he had a criminal past, having served jail time for VAT fraud, and admitted that he was using Polish workers on the farm, but said they were “properly employed”.

Smith said he would even consider taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights if he failed in his appeal over the £250,000 fine and order to pay the council’s prosecution costs of more than £13,500.

In a statement issued after Monday’s hearing, Doncaster Council said it had repeatedly warned Smith over his use of the site and said he had ignored its officers on five separate occasions.

Ms Clayton was not willing to comment directly on the situation, and her Leeds-based solicitor John Bodnar said it was not appropriate to talk about the legal position of the site at present.

However he added that Ms Clayton was very upset at the way Smith had treated the site over last six years sonce had moved there and added: “She feels he has turned what was a beautiful farm into an eyesore.”

[email protected]