PR 128/05 May 24, 2005

Herefordshire Council has applied for the committal to prison of the director of fruit growing company S&A Produce for allegedly breaching a High Court injunction over the use of its strawberry farm near Leominster.

The Council has applied to the High Court in London requesting that Mr Stanley John Davies, the company’s sole director, of Manor Farm, Marden, Hereford, be jailed.

The application also seeks to have the company’s assets seized and for S&A Produce to be fined for Contempt of Court after recent works at Brierley Court Farm, which the Council claims were unauthorised.

The move follows what the Council’s legal experts believe is a breach of the original High Court order, made in May 2004 and backed by the Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Elias, sitting in the Court of Appeal, which prevented the site from being developed.

The alleged breach centres around works to an amenity building at the farm. Large openings previously boarded up with plywood around the building have been fitted with new PVC windows.

Despite writing to the company giving a deadline, which expired on May 16, at 4pm, requesting that the building be returned to its former condition, and extending that deadline by a further 24 hours, the amenity building remained unchanged.

The Leader of Herefordshire Council, Cllr Roger Phillips, said: "We consider that such a blatant breach of a High Court order is a very serious matter. I am sure the Court will deal with it in the most appropriate manner.

"Despite issuing several warnings which gave S&A Produce the opportunity to be in line with the High Court order nothing has been done to restore the building to its former condition."

The application is likely to be heard at the High Court, in London, over the next four weeks. No date has been set for a hearing at this stage.

Note for editors

1) The date of the High Court hearing is June 13. The venue is still to be confirmed although it is likely to be London’s High Court, on The Strand.

For more details contact Craig MacFarlane, Corporate Media Officer, on (01432) 260658.