Verney Fields in Stonehouse ‘blighted’ by caravans

Verney Fields in Stonehouse has been a bone of contention between the town and the site’s new owners in recent years.

Townsfolk had previously walked freely across the land there for many years.

But that all came to an abrupt end after barbed wire fences were erected across the site last year after the land changed ownership.

The issue has become a matter of huge public concern in the market town and Stonehouse Town Council has submitted an application for town and village green status for the site which has three public rights of way across it.

Tree preservation orders for the site were granted by Stroud District Council last November.

But now residents say old caravans have spoiled the views across the much-loved fields which lie within the Cotswold National Landscape.

Verney Fields’ owners say they have placed the caravans there because they have had to spend 200 hours repairing fences cut by vandals across the site.

However, many residents are dismayed by what they see as a “clear disregard for the environment.”

Steve Armstrong, a long time resident of Verney Fields, said: “To return from a weekend away to be confronted by caravans dumped over a much loved-landscape was truly shocking.

“For over a year the new owner and their representatives have claimed to be farmers with a desire to protect wildlife.

"To dump scrap caravans over the land with clear disregard for the environment unfortunately shows them in their true colours.”

Scott Curtis, another resident, said he was shocked when he first saw the caravans on Verney Fields while walking a friend’s dog on Monday.

“It’s a bizarre sight and it can’t have been easy to get them up there,” he said.

“It’s just the latest in a series of odd things that have happened in these fields over the last couple of years – none of which appear to have been to the benefit of the local environment or wildlife.”

Nick Fawkes, also from Stonehouse, said he was deeply saddened that the once beautiful wild area is now being used “to dump wrecked caravans”.

Liz Hillary, another resident, said she too was shocked to see the caravans on Verney Fields “which look as if they have been dumped there”.

“Verney Fields is a beautiful area which has public footpaths running throughout it,” she said.

“It’s an area that is well used by local residents and is a valuable local amenity for walking and other exercise.

“The new owners of Verney Fields have always insisted that they want to manage the land well and these recent actions are not in keeping with their professed vision for the area.

“Can something be done to ensure that they don’t use the land as a rubbish tip and are compelled to have more consideration for local residents in their use of the land?”

Sarah Hughes, who lives near Verney Fields, said the caravans have degraded the area.

“There’s no conceivable reason why anyone would take those caravans up there.

“I can’t comprehend why they would do that. There doesn’t seem to be any plausible reason why anyone would do that.

“At first I thought it was flytipping. It must have been really hard to get the caravans all the way up the hill and down the other side.

“They’ve gone to great lengths. It always happens late at night and after dark as well.”

A spokesperson for Windmill Farm, who manage the site, said the land is private farmland and they claim it is being used for agriculture.

They say the caravans may seem like unusual fencing material but they need something that “couldn’t be easily cut through”.

“Sadly we have spent over 200 hours repairing cut through fences and vandalism since last autumn, time which has been taken away from other farming activities and cost us a great deal of loss.

“We’d very much like to be able to use our farmland as intended, but a select few local activists with nothing better to do, insist on making it their mission to interfere with local agriculture and prevent us from farming our land.”

The owners say the current town and village green application would impose restrictions on apple tree planting if it were successful.

“We’ve been trying to get a grazing tenant since last year, but unfortunately three interested potential grazers have withdrawn interest over the months due to very regular, sometimes daily fence cutting and fields not remaining stock proof for any duration.

“If some members of the public are causing a disruption to agriculture, it is a farmers right to take measures to enable themselves to farm their land; the public are not entitled to any ‘amenity’ or any part of our private farmland.

“While caravans may seem like an unusual fencing material, we needed to use something more rigid which couldn’t be easily cut through, especially around harvest time, when our attention needs to be spent on fruit and not repairing fence damage done by these persistent criminals.”