Founder of Field of Dreams in Thurston steps back from site following fines

The man behind a Suffolk farm with a community ethos is taking a step back after being ordered to pay more than £3,000 for enforcement breaches.

Mark Byford, founder of Field of Dreams in Thurston described it as ‘heart-breaking’ as he spoke of his recent court appearance over the site he launched eight years ago this month.

Mr Byford admitted planning enforcement offences, including failure to remove a driveway and polytunnels, with the case brought by Mid Suffolk District Council.

He was issued with £1,500 in fines and other costs totalling £2,100. The driveway and the polytunnels in question have now been removed, he said.

Speaking of the financial impact, Mr Byford said: “It’s put me in a position where I have had to leave and get a job. They have made me take the drive up and tunnels down so we don’t have proper access to the farm.”

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In terms of access on to the site, Mr Byford said it was more of an issue for the larger groups and coaches, as well as those who are disabled.

He added: “What have they [the council] achieved? They have stopped children coming to the farm. Children come down to learn about the animals and looks after the animals.”

The farm is still open and is being run by Mr Byford’s partner Sue Smith, while he has taken up a job with a fruit and veg wholesale company, but is still supporting the farm financially.

He said: “It’s [fruit and veg wholesale] my background and I love it, but it’s not the farm.”

The planning dispute with the district council has been longrunning, with the farm launching a campaign in 2021 to safeguard its future.

With the lease up this summer, Ms Smith is exploring if she can continue to carry the farm on in a similar vein to how it has been running, with learning opportunities for children and adults.

She said: “We don’t want to stop. We still have people who use it for therapy services. We still have education and children’s clubs that run throughout the week. We still grow vegetables and have animals to look after.

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“We have a therapy day which is a free event on June 4 from 10am to 4pm to get everybody to see what we are about.”

A Mid Suffolk District Council spokesperson said the authority recognised the rich agricultural heritage of the area and supported farming, that is why it took all the steps possible to minimise enforcement action.

The spokesperson added: “We welcome Mr Byford’s decision to remove the metal containers that were previously on the site, and we will be re-inspecting the land to review whether the outstanding issues have been rectified.

“We hope to see full and complete compliance with our planning controls, which will give public confidence to the community that those controls are being upheld. We will continue to support them in carrying out the remedial action required to comply with planning legislation.”

“Anyone found to be in breach of planning control is given a reasonable period of time to correct the situation and prosecution is only ever used as a last resort.”