Martin Clunes, best known for his roles in “Doc Martin” and “Men Behaving Badly,” has publicly challenged his New Age Traveller neighbours who are seeking official recognition for their woodland plot as a residential traveller site. Clunes disputes their claim to traveller status, arguing that “the way they dress” and their attendance at music festivals do not qualify them as part of the traveller community.
The neighbours, Theo Langton and Ruth McGill, have lived in their 45ft by 16ft mobile home under a temporary licence for over 20 years. They’ve recently submitted a planning application to Dorset Council requesting permanent permission to use the land exclusively as a private residential traveller site for themselves and their family. Their proposal includes using a barn as a dayroom, workshop, and storage space, alongside a mobile home, touring caravan, and mobile van.
Clunes contests that their current habitation does not meet the criteria of a mobile home, labeling their attempts to obtain planning permission as “cynical” and “dishonest.” He emphasizes that visiting music festivals and selling handmade items there, while common among many festival stallholders and roadies, does not establish a nomadic lifestyle necessary under the legal definition of gypsy or traveller.
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Following concerns over potential flooding, the council postponed a decision last month. Clunes has since publicly submitted further comments reiterating his objections and questioning the legitimacy of their traveller status, stressing that planning decisions must be based on law and policy, not popularity or lifestyle appearance.
He argues that the council faces two options: reject the application and begin enforcement action allowing time for relocation, or grant temporary permission contingent on the applicants actively seeking an alternative site immediately. Clunes warns that granting permanent permission could set a precedent, encouraging the growth of a New Age Traveller community, as friends of the applicants have also bought nearby land and applied for planning to cultivate it and live on-site in a shepherd’s hut.
Previously, Dorset Council planning officers recommended approval, citing the location as sustainable with minimal impact on neighbours. However, the application was withdrawn from committee agendas following objections from Clunes' legal team. The council has indicated further assessment is needed, particularly regarding surface water flooding risks, before reconsidering the case.
The land in question is near Meerhay Farm, a 130-acre estate in Beaminster, Dorset, purchased by the Clunes family from Mr. Langton’s mother in 2007. The woodland site lies just 300 yards from the £5 million farmhouse where Clunes resides with his wife, Philippa Braithwaite.