Actor Martin Clunes has lost a long-running planning dispute with a family of new travellers living near his home in Dorset. Dorset Council voted seven to two to allow Theo Langton and Ruth McGill to remain permanently on their plot of land in Beaminster, overruling objections from the Wuthering Heights star and his wife, TV producer Philippa Braithwaite.
The couple, who define themselves as 'new travellers', have lived on the site for more than 20 years, using it as a base for selling art, jewellery and metalwork at festivals. Clunes and his wife argued that Langton and McGill were not 'statutory' Travellers and that granting permission would set a precedent for others. The actor's barrister, John Steel KC, warned that 'others will follow' and that the decision would send a message that planning rules could be circumvented.
However, the council's planning officer, Bob Burden, said the authority was satisfied that the couple were genuine Travellers journeying to sell goods. He noted a shortage of official sites for Gypsies and Travellers and described the impact on the landscape as negligible, as the site is largely hidden by trees. The Rev Jonathan Herbert, a chaplain to Gypsies and Travellers, praised the couple's off-grid, low-carbon lifestyle as an example to all.
Two other neighbours objected, raising fears of further encampments, but support for Langton and McGill was stronger. Their agent, Simon Rushton, argued that communities should accommodate difference. Following the decision, Abbie Kirkby of Friends, Families and Travellers highlighted the scarcity of stopping places, saying families face 'impossible choice' between dwindling sites or costly planning battles.
