Martin Clunes has encountered a significant setback in his ongoing efforts to stop his neighbours, described as ‘hippies,’ from establishing a permanent traveller site next to his property. The actor, famous for his role in Doc Martin, has been locked in a lengthy planning dispute with New Age Travellers Theo Langton and Ruth McGill, who wish to formalise their woodland plot and caravan as an official traveller site near Beaminster, Dorset.
Theo Langton and Ruth McGill have lived on the 45ft by 16ft mobile home site under a temporary rolling licence for over twenty years. They are now seeking planning permission for a private residential traveller site exclusively for their use and family. Their application includes the erection of a barn serving as a dayroom, workshop, and storage, alongside one mobile home, a touring caravan, and a mobile van.
Clunes has challenged the legitimacy of the claim, questioning whether the current residence qualifies as a mobile home and whether the couple are genuine travellers entitled to establish a permanent base.
READ MORE: UK Football Team Fined for Sexist Chant Directed at Female Referee
READ MORE: Amazon Shoppers Rave About Affordable Dehumidifier That Costs Just 5p Per Hour to Run
Recently published documents on Dorset Council’s planning portal include a flood risk assessment that dismisses Clunes’ concerns. The report determined that no specific flood risk management measures are necessary. Although the site faces some risk of surface water flooding, the land is located within Flood Zone 1, the lowest risk category for river or sea flooding.
The assessment states: “The development is considered ‘Highly vulnerable’ but appropriate within Flood Zone 1. No sequential or exception flood risk tests are required, and the proposed development will have no impact on flood risk elsewhere.”
Despite this, Dorset Council has yet to reach a decision. Earlier, planning officials had recommended approval, but Clunes’ legal team’s last-minute intervention removed it from the agenda. This triggered a two-year court battle, with no clear resolution timeline in sight.
The dispute is made more complex by the fact that the Clunes family purchased the adjoining 130-acre Meerhay Farm from the mother of Mr Langton, landscape designer Georgia Langton, back in 2007. The contested traveller site lies roughly 300 yards from Clunes' £5 million farmhouse, where he lives with his wife, Philippa Braithwaite.