UDDERLY RIDICULOUS
Cows to have mooing measured for a YEAR after farmer gets noise complaint ... from her brother!
COMPLAINING about the sound of mooing is perhaps a little surprising if you choose to live next to a farm.
But then, this dispute between neighbours is about much more than a few noisy cattle.
Behind the noise protest lies the story of a bitterly divided family, a catalogue of petty complaints and even bizarre allegations that farm noise disturbed the recording of a porn film.
Farmer Jo Cartwright, 60, and her family pride themselves on producing the highest quality organic beef at Swillington Organic Farm near Leeds.
Though the council has ordered noise levels be monitored for a year, Mrs Cartwright’s family reject the claim that their 110 animals disturb the peace in winter when housed in a new open-sided barn. They insist the noise level is much the same as it has been for decades.
The neighbour who’s complained lives in Swillington House, a 200-year-old ‘manor style’ property just 70 yards away.
He happens to be Mrs Cartwright’s brother James Bullock, 59, a former company director. It is clear the two sides of the family have been at loggerheads for years.
Both siblings have lived on the family farm all their lives. After father Jim Bullock died almost 25 years ago aged 92, they struck a deal that meant Mrs Cartwright owned the land and farm, while her brother inherited the substantial 5-bedroom property, which is estimated to be worth at least £1million.
Over the last decade or so Mr Bullock has been accused of making a series of complaints to oppose to the expansion of his sister’s farm business.
Mrs Cartwright’s son Ed, 29, the farm’s managing director, yesterday described his uncle’s attitude as ‘vexatious’ and said he has previously had to threaten taking out a restraining order against him.
Other verbal complaints made to him by Mr Bullock have allegedly included the claim that weeds from their land were invading his property.
And ‘ a few years ago’ Mr Cartwright claimed his uncle also complained about the noise of his tractors as they were said to be interrupting filming in a pornography studio in the house.
Mr Cartwright said: ‘When I was a photography student I was given a tour of the dungeon they have there. I have a marketing background and I think they wanted me to get involved but I wasn’t interested.’
The two sides of the family clashed again after the Cartwrights legally built a large new barn to store hay and animal feed.
Last year they started using it to house cattle during the winter months and the farmer sought retrospective planning consent for this change of use. Mr Bullock told council officials the noise of the cows mooing was disturbing him and his partner during the night in winter and objected.
He claimed the noise had been measured at 80 decibels – double the night noise guidance limit.
And an audio recording of the mooing was even played to the Leeds City Council’s planning panel which was considering whether to grant consent.
Mr Bullock, who also complained about manure smell from the farm, said: ‘The noise has been intolerable. I have to lay there in bed listening to this bellowing. They say they are trying to help and that they want to be good neighbours – they haven’t done that so far.’
Councillors agreed to a recommendation to monitor noise levels for 12 months before making a decision on the barn’s use.
But the officer’s report stressed ‘planning permission can only be refused where there is clear and demonstrable evidence of unreasonable harm’.
Yesterday Mrs Cartwright hit back. She said: ‘This complaint about noise is ridiculous. We’ve only got about 30 more cows now and the noise is much the same as it has always been. The cows used to be kept in another barn a few metres away.
‘They don’t moo in the night as far as I am aware. Anyway, he wears a hearing aid so he should just take that out.’
Mrs Cartwright added: ‘ We’ve never been the best of friends but we used to be in business together. If he got on with his business and I got on with mine I wouldn’t be bothered.’
Asked to explain his repeated complaints, she said: ‘ He is jealous of our farm business. We’ve put 40 years of hard slog into it.’
As well as having cattle, sheep, poultry and pigs, the organic farm has its own farm shop, fishing and events business.
When approached to comment on the history of complaints and the claims about porn filming, Mr Bullock said: ‘There has been a lot said about me. I don’t want to get involved in the history of what has happened over the years.’
‘He should take his hearing aid out’