Somerset caravan park owner to pay £116,263 for disturbing SSSI
John Holland created a caravan park in a Site of Specific Scientific Interest without permission from Natural England
Holland dumped household and commercial waste on the site
A Somerset caravan park owner has been ordered to pay £116,263 after being convicted of disturbing a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which serves as an internationally important breeding ground for wading birds and waterfowl.
John Holland, 59, of Tapmoor Road, Moorlinch, appeared before Taunton Crown Court on Wednesday 26 November for sentencing after pleading guilty to two offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 at earlier hearings.
The prosecution was brought by Natural England following a four-year investigation into Holland’s activities, which evidenced he had turned the 1.2-hectare grassland site at Long Load within the Wet Moor SSSI into a permanent commercial caravan park. He crammed over 90 caravans and 40 vehicles into two fields and laid 300 metres of tarmac roads, as well as dumping household and commercial waste on the site.
Holland and his family had unsuccessfully applied five times between 2011 and 2018 for planning consent to develop the site into a permanent caravan park, and these refusals were subsequently upheld by the Planning Inspectorate.
Highly protected landscape
The investigation revealed Holland had turned the 1.2-hectare grassland site into a permanent commercial caravan park
The court heard how the SSSI, which also falls within a Special Protection Area and Ramsar site, was designated in 1985 and forms part of the extensive marsh grasslands and ditch systems which make up the Somerset Levels and Moors, a highly protected landscape renowned for supporting unique biodiversity.
The site provides nationally important breeding habitat for threatened populations of wading birds such as curlew and black-tailed godwit and supports internationally important populations of red-listed bird species including the endangered Bewick’s swan, lapwing and pochard, as well as being home to over 3% of the global population of Eurasian teal.
Natural England concluded the works carried out by Holland had resulted in habitat loss, displacement and long-term disturbance to these bird species, and charged Holland with two offences in March 2023.
Proceeds of crime
Holland crammed over 90 caravans and 40 vehicles into two fields
After pleading guilty, Holland – who was also convicted in September 2023 of physically threatening and abusing Natural England officers who visited the site to investigate the initial allegations in 2021 – claimed to be bankrupt.
Natural England commenced proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and instructed financial investigators, who found Holland had accrued over £1 million in unexplained cash and assets, which were successfully evidenced to have arisen from his unlawful operation of the caravan park.
The court held Holland’s offending demonstrated a criminal lifestyle and certified he had accrued £1 million of illicit financial gain from his actions. He was ordered to pay Natural England £116,263.00 within three months. The court noted that the amount it could order Holland to pay was limited in the context of the total illicit benefit accrued owing to his active bankruptcy proceedings.
The court also granted Natural England an order requiring Holland to restore the site to its former condition as semi-natural grassland by 23 January 2026, removing all caravans and associated infrastructure and creating and maintaining habitat for breeding and wintering birds. If he fails to comply, he faces a further unlimited fine plus an additional £100 fine for each day the order is not complied with.
In sentencing Holland, His Honour Judge Richard Shepherd said:
You had numerous opportunities to rectify the damage caused and carried on regardless, which amplified the effects on the site’s fauna and flora.
This was a deliberate and persistent set of offending which showed a flagrant disregard of the law.
Matt Heard, Natural England National Delivery Director, said following the hearing:
We welcome the court’s judgement, which is the result of four years of dedicated investigation and demonstrates our clear commitment to protecting Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Holland’s behaviour has shown blatant contempt for this intentionally important conservation site and the rare and threatened species that depend upon it.
His actions were completed in full knowledge of the impact they would have, yet he chose to repeatedly disregard Natural England’s advice and prioritise achieving significant illicit financial gain over complying with his legal obligations to protect the site.
Background
Natural England is the statutory enforcement body for Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in England.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest are areas of natural and semi-natural habitats which include the country’s most important areas for flora, fauna, geology, and biodiversity. They are afforded enhanced legal protection against damaging activities under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Natural England is empowered to bring criminal proceedings under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.
The charges
- Between 1st March 2018 and 14th April 2022, John Holland, being the owner of land at La Lade Caravan Park, Long Load, in the county of Somerset, including an area which is notified as a site of special scientific interest, carried out, caused or permitted to be carried out on the land operations included in the notification without the written consent of Natural England or other lawful excuse. Such operations including:
(a) ORNEC 21 – Construction, removal or destruction of roads, tracks, walls, fences, hardstands, banks, ditches or other earthworks, or the laying, maintenance or removal of pipelines and cables above or below ground.
(b) ORNEC 22 – Storage of materials.
(c) ORNEC 23 – Erection of permanent or temporary structures, or the undertaking of engineering works including drilling.
Contrary to section 28P(1) Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
- Between 1st March 2018 and 14th April 2022, John Holland, being the owner of land at La Lade Caravan Park, Long Load, in the county of Somerset, including an area which is notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, without reasonable excuse intentionally or recklessly disturbed fauna knowing that the said fauna was within a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Contrary to section 28P(6) Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.