A couple is demanding a refund on their new £3million rural home after travellers set up a caravan site nearby.
Jamie and Eda Pierce allege the sellers lied to them when they bought the five-bedroom Kent property in 2022.
Around three years after the Pierces moved to Pootings, a hamlet near Crockham Hill, Kent, a group of travellers arrived with trucks and excavators to set up camp adjacent to the property.
The couple claims Paul and Elizabeth Nott, who sold them the home for a discounted price of £3.15million knew that travellers were planning to set up camp on the site.
The Pierces allege they specifically asked during the sale whether the Notts knew of “any plans to alter, develop or change the use of any neighbouring land within a quarter of a mile” of the property.
They claim the Notts’ solicitor told their lawyer: “Not to our clients’ knowledge”, with the couple now alleging that declaration was false, and the Notts knew it, reports The Telegraph.
However, the Pierces have allegedly uncovered a series of emails that indicate Mr Nott was involved in a campaign to head off travellers trying to buy the land in the summer of 2021, according to reports.
The Pierces have now filed a High Court claim against the Notts, with the couple seeking the return of the £3.15m, along with damages for deceit, interest, and expenses including legal fees and stamp duty.
According to legal documents, the Notts were emailed by a neighbour about “suspicious” people coming to see the land in 2021.
Mr Nott allegedly offered to buy the farm with another local “to protect the plot from unwanted development”, however this offer was rejected.
In another twist, Mr Nott was said to be a founder member of the Pootings Residents’ Association, which was set up to fight the development after the land was bought by Patrick Delaney.
Mr Delaney was said to have connections to the traveller community.
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Jonathan Seitler KC, representing the Pierces, wrote: “Had the defendants not made the false representation and had instead confirmed that the owner of Seasons Farm [the land bought by Mr Delaney] was likely to have and to make development proposals, the claimants would not have purchased the property.
“They had no intention of purchasing property which was adjacent to land used by the travellers’ community.”
Last July, Mr Delaney sold the land to four traveller families, who converted the area into a caravan site during the August bank holiday.
While the travellers were served a High Court injunction, the majority of the works were already finished and families were in the new homes.
Lawyers representing the Pierces and the Notts have declined to comment on the case.
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