Protesters win right to appeal over farm development

Campaigners have donated more than £57,000 to fight legal battles

Campaigners have won the right to a High Court appeal hearing over their long-running battle to stop a housing development on a dairy farm.

More than £57,000 has previously been raised by the Save Westridge Farm Campaign to fight a series of legal battles against Isle of Wight Council.

The application to build 473 homes on the farm near Ryde was initially refused and then approved during the same council meeting in 2021.

In August, a High Court judge ruled the authority had followed a proper process.

The council planning meeting in July 2021 heard there were more than 500 objections to the development, supported by a 4,000-signature petition.

An initial vote to refuse the application was overturned after councillors failed to agree reasons for refusal.

Councillor Michael Lilley was excluded from the meeting on the grounds that his mind was closed on the issue.

He said: “This has been a principled fight against turning rich agricultural and environmentally important land, including the habitat and feeding grounds of endangered species, into a cash-rich development site.

"The planning committee meeting back in July 2021 and subsequent process was simply flawed and cruel. Residents have had a case and have been brave and courageous enough to believe the community and nature deserved justice.”

Archie Holliday, 8, said in a campaign video in 2020 that he hoped to take over the farm from his father Nigel

The campaigners' lawyers, Greenfields, said: “The Westridge Farm planning application was riddled with injustices from beginning to end.

"We sincerely hope that through this bitter process, and whatever the final outcome, the council and its planning department... finally respect how the ordinary people of the island feel about these green fields."

The tenant farm was run by members of the Holliday family for 55 years until 2022.

Eight-year-old Archie Holliday previously featured in a campaign video on social media in which he said he wanted to be a farmer "like my dad, grandad and great-grandad".

Developer Captiva Homes previously said the development would protect 80 local jobs and create "desperately-needed" housing, including 166 affordable homes.

Isle of Wight Council has been approached for comment.

The appeal is due to be heard at the High Court in London over two days next year.