Norfolk Broads planning feud lasts for quarter of a century

To be involved in one planning dispute might be regarded as a misfortune.

To get embroiled in three, however, seems like more than just bad luck.

Businessman Raymond Hollocks owns three prominent sites on the Norfolk Broads and is engaged in protracted and bitter legal fights with the Broads Authority (BA) at each one.

Indeed, the disputes are just the latest skirmishes in an astonishing ongoing feud with the BA which dates back more than 25 years, since Mr Hollocks first bought a site on the waterways.

Mr Hollocks, 70, claims the BA has been pursuing a “personal vendetta” against him and is hampering his efforts to build viable businesses on the Broads.

Raymond Hollocks sat at the bar of The Beauchamp Arms says the Broads Authority is the biggest quango in the entire country (Image: Bruno Brown)

The Authority says this is nonsense and that its actions are necessary to protect the character of the waterways from unsuitable developments.

After several years of back and forth, the row between the two sides is now set for a court showdown, with Mr Hollocks due to appear before magistrates this summer in connection with one of the disputes.

The BA is bullish.  A spokesman said: “The landowner has committed the same breach of planning regulations at three locations now and the Authority has no option but to take enforcement action against somebody flouting planning regulations so consistently."

The acrimony dates back to 1997 - just eight years after the BA was established, meaning it has been involved in various wrangles with Mr Hollocks for around 26 of its 34 years.

It was at this point that Mr Hollocks bought his first Broads business, the Beauchamp Arms, a once thriving pub prominently located on the banks of the Yare, between Rockland and Cantley.

He later took on the Berney Arms, now closed but another once popular pub - considered the most remote in Norfolk - further downstream near Breydon Water.

Pictured on the left is The Berney Arms in August 1966, and picture on the right is The Berney Arms pictured in May 2023 by Dan Grimmer

He also later bought Loddon Marina, in the picturesque town at the end of the navigable Chet.

His battles with the BA began shortly after he took on the Beauchamp.

One of the earliest sources of controversy was the type of cladding he used on the dock at the site.

Other tussles have followed: the BA did not approve of the colour he used when he painted the pub bright blue.

It has also objected to kerbing and lighting he has installed on the half-mile track to the pub from the main road, as well as an area of wooden decking in the pub garden, saying the necessary permissions were not secured.

One recurring theme in the disputes, however, has been the use of static caravans at all three sites.

One of the static homes facing enforcement action is pictured along the driveway to The Beauchamp Arms Pub (Image: Bruno Brown)

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The installation of such structures is strictly controlled on the Broads and this has led to repeated clashes with the BA, which says the necessary permissions have not always been granted.

Arguments about the caravans - some of which house tenants of Mr Hollocks' - have raged for years, but now matters seem to be coming to a head.

In April, the BA issued an enforcement notice for the removal of two statics and a wooden building at the Berney Arms.

Then, last month, the organisation made the same order for two caravans at Loddon.

The case which is most advanced, however, relates to the Beauchamp.

In August, Mr Hollocks is due at court accused of failing to abide by the terms of an earlier enforcement notice from the BA to remove two statics from outside the pub.

Mr Hollocks claims he was in Florida - where he owns another home - when the notice was served at the pub.

When he returned months later, there was no time to launch an appeal, he argues.

He has been threatened with court before.

"In 2018 I spent £10,000 on legal fees in a court hearing against the Broads Authority in one of the first enforcement situations," he said.

"A week prior to the case they dropped their charges."

He is confident he can win the latest case.

Mr Hollocks pictured on the decking he has laid at The Beauchamp Arms which the Broads Authority have demanded be torn up (Image: Bruno Brown)

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"The statics we are appearing in court over have been on the rating list [of rateable properties] since 2005 and used for staff accommodation and holiday lets," he added.

"We will fight them and win it."

Mr Hollocks bought the Beauchamp Arms when he began to enjoy the first stage of his early retirement from his job in the oil industry abroad and in London.

Originally from East London, he and his family have had a Norfolk base since the 1980s, which made the pub an ideal project for the next stage of his career.

But the business has faced struggles, with a dwindling number of boaters stopping there.

To make up for this, Mr Hollocks has added accommodation, in the form of the static caravans, at the isolated spot.

The River Yare runs past Mr Hollocks's Beauchamp Arms, a once thriving river way now in decline he says - Cantley Sugar Factory can been seen on horizon of shot (Image: Bruno Brown)

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He said that when he first bought the Beauchamp - previously the site of a ferry crossing - it was busy every night, catering for holidaymakers, with 30-40 boats moored up each evening.

Now, river tourism traffic has dwindled to a tiny fraction of that, something he blames on the BA.

He claims the Authority has neglected the so-called 'Southern Rivers' (the Yare, Waveney and Chet), where his businesses are based, in favour off the northern ones - the Bure, Ant and Thurne, which include the tourist hotspots of Wroxham, Horning, Stalham and Potter Heigham.

“Loddon, where I have the boatyard, could be the Wroxham of the Southern Broads and hugely beneficial for the local economy," he said.

"It has enormous potential but it is being severely restricted."

"There used to be 3,500 boats on the river [Yare] when I first came here in 1997 and there used to be 30-40 boats mooring [at the Beauchamp] a night then, not even in the height of the season.

"Every boater would come in and have drinks and food and the Beauchamp didn’t need local trade because the boat trade was booming.

"Nowadays boating is too expensive and legislative measures have led to a huge demise, so now in the Southern Broads, there are only about 50 boats left.

"We don’t get the trade on this section, because the BA's focus is primarily on Oulton and the northern section.

Mr Hollocks is pictured next to the bed of roses which he has planted in honour of the previous pub owner who had his ashes scattered at the site, Mr Hollocks says the pub has great spiritual energy (Image: Bruno Brown)

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“Beauchamp is special in so many ways, it has amazing energy and is in a beautiful and marvellous setting and I am very welcoming and would love people to come along here and sit and relax.

"I have the best intentions for this place and it is devastating the BA are not helping us run it.

"It's heartbreaking what the BA have done to our rivers. It used to be a thriving place around here.

"By taking away my boat trade, they are now trying to penalise me for renovating the place to have a focus on accommodation and fishing to boost trade."

A Broad Authority spokesman denied any neglect of the Southern Rivers.

The spokesman added: “The landowner has appealed against the enforcement action so the matter will be dealt with by an independent inspector.

"The Authority will comply with the inspector's decision.

"Should the inspector rule in favour of the planning authority, and the landowner still fail to comply, he will be committing a criminal offence.”

The still water of the River Yare in the evening at the Beauchamp Arms taken in 2007 (Image: Denise Bradley)

SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT

The idea the Southern Rivers suffer in comparison with the northern ones, in terms of tourist numbers, is not limited to Mr Hollocks.

While the Southern Rivers have plenty to offer visitors - from villages like Reedham and Geldeston, to Beccles, Oulton Broad and Norwich - there is a perception among many local firms that they get less than their fair share of tourists.

Partly, this is explained by geography.

Most of the holiday boatyards are on the Northern Rivers, especially in places like Horning, Wroxham, Potter Heigham and Stalham.

To get to the Southern Rivers requires not just plenty of motoring, but also navigation through Great Yarmouth and across Breydon Water, which can be challenging for novice boaters.

The Broads Authority insists it supports and promotes the Southern Rivers, and points to various campaigns and initiatives to bring more to these waterways.

A spokesman said: "Through our websites, social media and Broadcaster Magazine, the Broads Authority provides comprehensive visitor information on the best places to visit in the unique and beautiful southern rivers.

“We have also produced guides in Broadcaster and animated safety videos on how to safely cross Breydon Water.

"There is also our friendly and helpful team at Great Yarmouth Yacht Station who advise boaters on the best crossing times. 

“In particular, the tranquil Southern Rivers are a mecca for paddlers, with some fantastic yards where you can hire canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards and lots of great local pubs, restaurants and cafes to fuel up at."