Village pensioner ‘gang’ accused of menacing tycoon over his helipad
A GP and three pensioners are being sued for £1.3million after they were accused of spying on their multimillionaire neighbours and trespassing on their land.
They have clashed with Mark Randolph Dyer, a property magnate, and his wife Clare over plans to develop their £2.6million house in the Surrey Hills.
The couple moved into their property, which boasts a pool and tennis court, in 1997 but are said to have caused a stir when they installed a helipad ten years later. They were told to remove it via an enforcement notice.
They also own a field and two cottages in Mrs Dyer’s name, and friction grew as they lodged more than 50 planning applications, London’s High Court heard. In response, four villagers – Dr Andrew Cross, 63, retired bank executive David Small, 81, and his wife Susan, 78, plus charity trustee
‘Intruding on their privacy’
Patricia Webb, 77 – are said to have launched a ‘calculated’ campaign of harassment against the couple.
The ‘menacing’ clique – all members of the residents group in the hamlet of Brook – are accused of ganging up to look at the Dyers in a ‘spooky’ way, using telephoto lenses to intrude on their privacy and trespassing on their land.
Mr Small, who worked for the Bank of England before he retired, is said to have appeared on the roof of his house, ‘mimicking the voice’ from his rich neighbours’ security system. But the four deny wrongdoing, branding the case a ‘vexatious’ and ‘misconceived attempt to litigate village politics and perceived insults’.
The Dyers, both 59, say they have been the victims of a bid by their neighbours to thwart their development plans and are seeking an injunction ‘prohibiting them from objecting to planning applications’.
They are also suing for £1.3million compensation to reflect the alleged drop in property value caused by the slew of objections, while the targeted injunction is also aimed at barring acts of ‘trespass and harassment’. Their barrister, Richard Barraclough KC, told the court last week the harassment took the form of bombarding Guildford council with planning objections and acts of harassment such as the ‘spooky gazing’.
He added: ‘It’s a personal vendetta, say the claimants, either through direct acts of harassment or by indirectly using the planning process as a device to harass them.’
But the quartet’s barrister, Amy Proferes, said the alleged wrongdoing was petty and they ‘vehemently deny any harassment’. The planning issues were the Dyers’ ‘real axe to grind’, she alleged, adding: ‘The other allegations are being used to justify a very unusual basis for a harassment claim.’
Judge Dexter Dias KC reserved until July judgment on whether to issue an injunction.