What the National Trust and Guildford Borough Council don't want the public to know and what newspapers refuse to print for risk of being sued
On August 19th 2004 the National Trust flooded Burpham Court Farm rare farm animals conservation centre for the 12th time that year (22 times in total) by opening its weir gates fully across the NT–owned Wey Navigation, flooding fields, previously, ruining hay crops and washing away animals and introducing liver fluke to water logged pastures where over 70 sheep subsequently died before the parasite was discovered.
The danger to elderly fishermen being washed off their feet, tiny children drowning in a surging river or pond whose height increased 2 1/2 feet or children found swimming beneath the NT weir could easily have resulted in fatalities but the National Trust opened their weirs without regard to the safety of anyone or anything when a weir just 400m away, designed to prevent flooding could have been opened instead. Last flood alert issued by the Environment Agency was January 2003 and on many occasions the rainfall was just a few millimetres.
On the advice of the Tenant farmers legal help line, D.A.S., after every level of National Trust management had been pleaded with to close their weirs to half, to no avail, a court injunction was sought to only allow weirs to be opened to half which did not cause flooding. No judge could be found with authority to grant an injunction and by 2pm August 19th from 11am, the river was back in bank leaving a farm attraction under water for days before drying out and some fields taking 3 months to dry out. 22 times in one year.
Eventually, weeks later a judge was found, to hear if an injunction could be granted to stop flooding but no. He ordered it to go to a full trial. The tenant farmers legal protection cover refused to cover the proceedings despite following their advice in the first place. The TFA would not help as neither would the NFU who abandoned giving this rare breeds farm any help in 1995. DAS would not even give any advice on procedures in going to trial and every source of legal help was declined because the farmer and his wife having not been allowed to make a profit in 14 years by Guildford councils actions, having no day off in 14 years and being totally wiped out and exhausted then had to take on the National Trust, Guildford Council who knew their tenanted farm was flooded by opening weirs before letting the farm but never disclosed it.
That the banks hiding an industrial estate were Guildford's rubbish tip for 30 years and Guildford council advertised the farm for organic farming, public access and rare breeds and knew that the toxic leachate from their rubbish tip they ran through pipes and ditches to the river would flood the farm when the National Trust wrote to them saying "Don't put a boathouse near the weir if you make the farm into a country park because when we open the weirs fully, the farm floods and canoeists will be washed away". And our business plan submitted to the council was to have boating for families on the same river. Thank God we never started that enterprise or we would have had drown families and Guildford Council said nothing other than there may be occasional winter flooding but there is plenty of room to house animals in times of flood. Ha flippin Ha! Maps from the council dated March 1990 show every farm building floods.
The National Trust counter sues the Environment Agency so now the National Trust has spent around £250,000 of legal costs objecting to it being allowed to devastate a rare farm animal visitor centre where around 20,000 visitors a year visit, with half small children. (NT are the countries largest landowner, receive more agricultural subsidies than almost anyone and last year made just under £22million profit.) Every starving refugee in Darfur could be fed for months on what the National Trust is spending on legal costs.
When the Judge refused the injunction against the NT in September 2004 he ordered the NT to inform the farm when opening weir gates. The NT asked what they should write. The judge said "You inform the farm when you adjust the weirs" Now we get a phone call "National Trust, we are making a weir adjustment. Bye". "Hold on. Are you opening or closing and how much?" NT "Don't have to tell you that. Bye" So now we have to go out and stand on their weir, often in the night to see what whey have done. The NT then threaten us with an injunction if we step on their weir to see how open it is and when we see their weir keeper having fully opened one weir gate, opening another and above the roar shout "look behind you at our flooded fields" they take us to court saying we are harassing their weir keeper and that judge orders us to pay £10,000 in costs to the National Trust. At that hearing December 2004 the court was full of press looking for the "Nasty farmer threatening nice weir keeper story" but at the June 20th hearing not one member of the press were present.
Guildford Council were named as second defendants in the injunction because they had known for more than 14 years the farm flooded from weir gate openings and their pollution was running across the farm and entering the river, yet insisted the farm be organic. 37 animals have been born with birth defects near the landfill site. Claims against Guildford council were lodged for misrepresentation in 1997 but the court won't hear them and say an Arbitrator must. The Arbitrator won't be expedient and heard 2 claims from 1997 to 2002 but the courts would not dismiss him and replace him or hear the claims instead. Judge Darbyshire in 2002 described delays as "intolerable and inexcusable and likely to take to 2020" yet still would not dismiss the arbitrator and order him to speed up.
At the full trial on June 20th 2005 the judge dismissed Guildford council from proceedings and ordered a farmer not having made a profit in 15 years working to breaking point daily to pay 33% of Guildford's costs at £27,000 , because the case against Guildford was of misrepresentation and after 6 years it was time barred.
On June 15th on the evidence of all parties expert witnesses that flooding was occurring up the land drainage system of Guildford council where it discharged its pollution from the landfill site to the river an additional application was lodged in court which said "Guildford Borough Council be adjoined on the evidence of expert witnesses in ADDITION to its numerous misrepresentations"
The judge claimed that only misrepresentation was pleaded and that was time barred, dismissed the Guildford council and left the farmer to pay £27,000 and still fight the National Trust and Environment Agency alone. Later, said the farmer will not turn up to the last 3 hearing days and witnesses need not turn up and we must pay the National Trust costs of over £250,000 when nothing of the sort was ever said and we will be there to show how they negligently dump water from their navigation (canal) onto the farm because they keep the water levels too high.
Neither the judge not the court staff will confirm that the application of June 15 which clearly adjoined Guildford council "in addition to misrepresentation" was ever put before the judge. An appeal has been lodged but in the meantime Guildford council are pursuing the £27,000 costs at the same time a lone farmer is still fighting the National Trust (The charity to preserve our heritage? Are not our rare breeds our heritage?)
Please, please contact your MP and show them this. Boycott all National Trust properties, withdraw your NT membership and tell them why, contact every newspaper and TV company you can find and tell them what is happening. If you can and I don't even like to ask, donate anything you can financially to Burpham Court farm rare breeds to fight these total injustices. If you live near Guildford, boycott all Guildford council owned facilities, their theatre, sports centre, swimming pools etc and pay any bills to them as late as possible and say why. (Don't with hold any council tax, you may be imprisoned but pay as late as you dare)
50 rare breeds sheep with 75 lambs, 15 cattle, pigs etc were sent to be shot and slaughtered in the foot and mouth outbreak not because of disease, but because the National Trust on July 28th 2000 opened two weir gates fully and drown our hay crop. Our animals were marooned in floods for two and a half months. In foot and mouth times we had no feed and couldn't move animals off farm and had no money to buy feed.
Members of the public raised £10,000 which saved the rest of our rare breeds for which we will always be eternally grateful . Our rare white park cattle had to be sold last week (14 years work) to a farm in Somerset. Ironically to a farmer who gets £50 an acre for grazing land with native cattle he rents?es, from the National Trust. Its a lot to ask but we need the publics help again if all the rare farm animals at Burpham court farm are not again going to be sold, shot, slaughtered and myself and family made bankrupt and put out of our tenanted home where we have worked for 14 years conserving the countryside, rare farm animals and educating the public for which we have not had a penny reward and been constantly impoverished by the actions of Guildford council and now the National Trust in close liaison with the Environment Agency.
We need to immediately survive the onslaught of Guildford Councils legal dept just to survive to the further three days of hearing against the National Trust in Guildford County Court on December 19, 20, 21. Hope you have a happy Christmas. I know me and my family won't.
Bob Dearnley
PS
Guildford Council on Friday 14th October started court proceedings to get £28 000 from us, despite appeal in process.
Please do what you can to stop the sale and slaughter of our animals and property. GBC are trying to stop the rest of the trial and evict us , to put a road from Clay Lane to Slyfield over the farm, and so they can continue to pollute and flood the farm.