15-05-2025
The surprisingly posh background of Martin Clunes's ‘fake gypsy' neighbour
With its ancient woodlands, multimillion-pound properties and the Jurassic coastline just a short drive away, Beaminster in west Dorset seems the perfect place for a star to escape the stresses of modern life.
But the area's resident celebrity, actor Martin Clunes, 63, has found himself embroiled in a bitter planning row with neighbours seeking to set up a permanent traveller site just 300 yards from his 130-acre farm, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Theo Langton and Ruth McGill have been living off-grid on their woodland plot for more than 20 years, raising two children in a caravan with no running water or electricity.
Now, the pair have said they are entitled, as members of the New Age Travellers community, to continue living on the site permanently in their 45ft x 16ft mobile home. They claim there are no other suitable sites in the area in which they could live.
Dorset Council appears sympathetic. Officials recommended their plans for approval in April (though the case has been temporarily deferred after concerns were raised about flooding at the site). Importantly, the council's gypsy liaison officer has also suggested Langton and McGill should definitively be considered as 'New Age Travellers' – a nod to a subculture that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s and is characterised by nomadic, counter-cultural lifestyles. For their part, the pair say the fact they earn a living, as artists, from travelling to festivals, proves they are travellers.
However, the request has infuriated Clunes and his neighbours, who accuse the couple of playing the system in an attempt to circumvent planning laws. In recent years, the pair have developed the 'Wintergreen Barn' site, which now features a renovated barn and composting toilets.
When The Telegraph visited Clunes's nearby property – where he lives with his wife, TV producer Philippa Braithwaite, surrounded by their horses and dogs – the actor politely declined to comment.
But in a recent submission to Dorset Council, he was scornful of Langton and McGill's application.
'It cannot be concluded that the applicants are persons of nomadic habit of life due to them visiting music and other festivals each year to sell items and help set them up,' Clunes wrote.
'This would mean that many, if not all, stallholders at such festivals, as well as the roadies who travel with the festival organisers, retailers and bands would be classed as gipsies and travellers within the planning definition, which clearly is not the case,' he added.
Clunes also argued there 'is no evidence that the applicants have 'a cultural tradition of nomadism or living in a caravan'.'
'The applicants are locally well-liked and they and their site may give the appearance of a New Age lifestyle, but that does not entitle them to special treatment,' he said.
To some, the star's concerns are understandable; the Wintergreen Barn site is just a short drive from Clunes's property, down a narrow country lane, appears to threaten his view and has, in the past, been slammed by the council as 'visually intrusive'.
Today, however, the plot appears a peaceful and respectable setting, at least from the road. The renovated barn, which the family are not permitted to live in, sits next to a trickling brook and wild spring flowers.
Beleaguered by the ongoing row, a well-spoken Langton tells The Telegraph he does not want to 'inflame' the situation, but stresses his family do qualify as travellers. He points out they are invited each summer to teach sculpture and jewellery-making at a number of high profile festivals. The son of a wealthy Dorset landowner, Langton describes this 'cultural art exchange' as something he is 'very proud' of and does not wish to see 'denigrated'.
'We are living a lawful way of life and have done so since we moved here. All we are doing is seeking recognition of that,' he tells The Telegraph.
The family's application is for continued, exclusive use of the land as a private residential traveller site, including a mobile home, touring caravan and van. It also seeks permission for the barn to be used as a workshop.
But it seems unlikely that Clunes and his neighbours will abandon their opposition to his plans – given they contend Langton is a man of considerable means, with static roots.
As a child, Langton reportedly attended a well-known public school in the area, while his mother is the celebrated garden designer Georgia Langton, whose work is popular among the country set.
Although he has lived on the site near Clunes's property in a tent since 1997, Langton was gifted the land by his mother – who previously owned several Dorset properties – in 2019. (Clunes himself bought his idyllic farm off Langton's mother in 2007 for around £3 million.)
Almost all the time Langton has been on the plot, the row over his presence has bubbled. He has repeatedly refused to leave the site on the grounds that Dorset Council provides few other options for travellers.
In 2006, the council issued an enforcement notice against him, with his site described as 'visually intrusive and detrimental to the appearance and character of the area'. But he remained in situ and almost a decade later, in 2015, he was granted five-year temporary permission to remain, while he looked for other suitable traveller accommodation.
A local planning expert, who didn't wish to be named, says the decision over his future status is far from straightforward.
'Arguably, if you are following planning policy, he shouldn't be there,' the expert tells The Telegraph.
'But Dorset Council has to balance the fact that the site is his home, and he's lived there for quite a period of time,' they add. 'The council is also under pressure to provide more sites for travellers, as they don't have enough.'
The protracted nature of the row has split this otherwise genteel community, where both Clunes and Langton have their supporters. Clunes hosts the annual Buckham fair on his land, which raises thousands each year for local charities, while Langton has previously sat on the local council and is an expert forager, respected by many for growing his own food and his sustainable way of life.
One local, Diana Clarke, who owns a classic English property, set in acres of land next to the plot occupied by Langton and his family, is adamant the council must not grant approval for it to become an official travellers site.
'Whether you live in a castle or a cottage, planning rules should apply to all,' she tells The Telegraph from her home. 'What homeowner would not wish to prevent an illegal development from being set up next to their own home? We simply want the correct application of the law.'Describing Langton's status as a traveller 'baffling', she adds: 'He is a long-term land owner who visits festivals and wants to live on his own land without planning permission.'
Dorset Council appears to take a different view.
Paula Clover, the local authority's gypsy and traveller liaison officer, said of the family in a recent report: 'It is very clear they follow and are a part of the New Age traveller community and have been for many years.'
'Although they are not ethnic gypsies, I am more than satisfied they are New Age travellers and have a lot of friends and support in the New Age traveller community,' she added.
Other officials have cited the lack of sites for 'gypsies, travellers and travelling show-people' in Dorset as a key factor in their consideration of the plans.
One local resident, who did not want to be named, said some in the community were worried that more travellers may come if the council signs off on Langton's request.
Others were quick to quash such fears, however.
Paula Tuff, a town councillor and charity director in Beaminster, who has known the Langton family for decades, says she has been appalled at their treatment.
'Theo has been a valued member of the community for years,' she says. 'He has gone to great lengths to protect his identity as a traveller and we need to welcome this diversity in this community.
'He simply wants a home for his family. And the idea that this will attract more travellers to the site is basically untrue.'
Another resident took issue with the characterisation of Langton by some of his critics as privileged. 'I believe he left school at 16, and as far as I'm aware, the travelling community has always been a diverse place, full of all sorts,' they said. 'People might say he's living illegally on this site but the council and its planners do not seem to think that anymore, so I think the neighbours are possibly out of step.'
As the row continues to rage, the council is yet to say when a final decision will be made.
Some contend it can't come soon enough, arguing the issue simply needs resolving – one way or another – to put an end to the years of uncertainty.
'A decision needs to be made so the whole saga can be put to bed and everyone can just get on with their lives,' says local resident and photographer Tim Booth.
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