THE action to evict a group of ‘eco-farmers’ from land at Yorkley Court left the police and the landowner with bills totalling £150,000, it has been revealed.

The figures were given to an inquiry set up by the Forest of Dean District Council into the eviction which took place over two days in March last year.

The inquiry could also lead to a new policy on accommodating “alternative” lifestyles in the countryside.

The inquiry was told the police bill for the eviction was £100,000 and the registered landowner had paid out around £50,000, according to a report to the council’s scrutiny and overview committee.

The council received a complaint from a member of the public about the land being occupied in June 2012 although ownership was disputed throughout the process.

A report on enforcement action to remove the occupiers because they did not have planning permission was first made in October 2013.

The Yorkley Court occupants argued that the enforcement notice – which was served on the owner and required the site to be cleared – should not have been issued because it was not in the public interest to do so.

They also alleged that a ‘comprehensive’ planning application was rejected by the council “on suspect grounds.”

The council says it had no direct involvement in the eviction process but it did provide a copy of an equality impact assessment to the landowner “to assist him in ensuring he had considered all the relevant information prior to conducting an eviction.”

The landowner said the eviction was carried out to ensure he complied with the eviction notice, although he agreed that there should have been more overnight security to prevent the occupiers re-gaining entry to the site after they had initially been removed.

The scrutiny committee agreed the council should investigate a “one planet policy living lifestyle initiative” – dubbed ‘gobbledygook’ by one councillor – and other ways of accommodating alternative lifestyles.

Cllr Chris McFarling (Green, Newland and St Briavels) said that on the day of the eviction the BBC Food and Farming awards were announced with the Yorkley Court farmers finalists for their food hub initiative.

He said: “We need to look at how we can support those communities through legal means so they are not ostracised or thrown out.

“We are not opening the floodgates, we are increasing our awareness of what a younger generation is trying to do to benefit society.

“They are not property owners – they are hard-working, they are not on benefits, they are community.”

Cllr Jane Horne (Con, Tibberton) said: “In my ward we have three examples of these living lifestyle differences and we are going to be encouraging people to just move onto somewhere they fancy and take it over.”