A family of four living on a farm are receiving threats from their neighbours who purchased the land which provides access to their home and told them they cannot pass through it. Matthew and Charis Watkinson bought their land in Newport, southwest Wales, in 2011 and, in 2016 they made a planning application to build a sustainable home on Beeview Farm for their family.
However, since then Matthew revealed there was a falling out between the couple and their neighbours Ian and Vivienne Ward who bought the lane which provides access to their farm. According to the Watkinsons, the retired couple started threatening to sue them for trespassing every time they drive the road to go home, the Mirror reports.
Mr Watkinson explained: "We weren't expecting people to buy this bit of land as it is a right of way. The access lane runs past their house and a bit further." Mr Watkinson added that their relationship with their neighbours has always been 'unpleasant' but their lives have became much more stressful with the constant threats over the access lane.
The father-of-two added that the worst part of the tension is that he believes his neighbours want to "get rid of our kids", who go to school in the area and love their life at the farm. The Watkinsons were left baffled by their neighbour's decision to buy the access lane and claim they are trying to stop them from using their farm as 'they only want sheep' in the area.
Matthew also fears that other neighbours have now taken a dislike to the sustainable project and the family's success. In 2016, the Watkinsons joined the Welsh One Planet Development Planning Policy - a scheme adopted by the Welsh government that provides an affordable and sustainable way for people to live and work on their own land, aiming to bring social, economic and environmental benefits.
The scheme gives families the permission to build houses on green-belt land, as long as they operate on zero carbon. The concept is that, when households reduce their own ecological footprints it helps the country reduce its overall footprint.
This means the Watkinson's off-the-grid lifestyle enables them to live with a low ecological footprint. Mr Watkinson said: "We feel like we're doing a pioneering project, which is fulfilling and rewarding.
"We want to show that an off-grid life with a low environmental footprint is possible." Matthew and Charis built their farm from scratch where they grow fruit and vegetable, brew nettle beer and take baths in a homemade wood-fired hot tub.
The parents are regularly joined on the sustainable farm by their kids Elsa, eight, and Billy, five who help them with agricultural tasks including planting fruit and veg as well as picking them when they're ripe. The family also have a hand-powered washing machine and a gas cooker that functions on horse manure.
The only electrical items the family possess are a TV, mobile phones and a small fridge-freezer. After the beginning of their project, the family were given five years to prove they could reach their target and live sustainably if they wanted to keep their planning permission.
However, Mr Watkinson claims his neighbours bought the access lane as they were "unhappy" that they had successfully reached their target. He explained: "Some neighbours have taken a dislike to our project and there was a fallout over our planning application.
Despite tensions, the Watkinsons are continuing life on the farm as normal for now as there is no court injunction at the moment. However, they fear that their neighbours will take them to court as they cannot afford legal fees due to their lifestyle.
The helpless couple organised a GoFundMe page to raise funds to employ a solicitor and a barrister to defend their land. The Watkinsons are also asking anyone who regularly uses the historical roads to and from Carningli Common on the lanes around Castle Hill to support their bid in having the roads officially registered as public rights of way.
The family are hoping that if other road users contact the council, their neighbours will lose ownership of the lane and they will stop being threatened with court action. The couple who were previously employed as vets moved to Wales from Essex with the hope of living a more sustainable life.
They said: "The current owners are trying to turn these ancient rights of way into permissive rights of way so they can deny some residents and visitors access along them. This is unacceptable. These routes need to be protected for all current and future generations."
The family added: "Public rights are being lost all over the place (see Dartmoor) and we'd like to apply to have all these ones officially recognised before they're removed by our neighbours. They've already locked one gate to stop people using an old path to the common land!"
In their GoFundMe appeal, the family explained their sustainable lifestyle at their '3-acre Beeview farm site in Pembrokeshire' and have already raised £13,000 of their £10,00 goal. The post reads: "Our neighbours bought our access lane and are now threatening to sue us for trespass and harassment to stop us farming and living in this way.
"Due to our low-impact, off-grid lifestyle we do not have the funds to pay for legal defence, and so we humbly ask for any amount you can donate that will go directly towards the legal costs involved in the process."
The couple thanked everyone for their kind donations and said the support had left them feeling 'overwhelmed'. Mr and Mrs Ward could not be reached for comment, but The Mirror has approached their solicitors.
A Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority spokesman told The Mirror: "Pedestrian access on the lanes around Castle Hill to Carningli Common is permitted by the landowner and managed by the National Park Authority. The registration of public rights of way along these lanes would be a matter for Pembrokeshire County Council to investigate, as they are the local highway authority with the legal responsibility for such matters."
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