The Court of Appeal has granted Natural England an injunction to prevent a tenant farmer cultivating land containing areas of archaeological interest.
The permanent injunction has been issued against Andrew Cooper in order to enforce compliance with the environmental impact assessment (EIA) regulations.
Mr Cooper has been the tenant farmer of 67-acres at Croyde Hoe Farm in North Devon since 1991.
From 1992 to 2012, he entered into agreements under the Countryside Stewardship scheme and, as part of this, maintained fields as pasture and uncultivated.
Then, in 2012, Mr Cooper applied to Natural England for an EIA screening decision in respect of nine fields, seeking to carry out mechanical and chemical cultivation of the fields for arable purposes.
Natural England's EIA screening decision was that all nine fields were uncultivated and contained features of important historic interest of national significance.
As a result, Mr Cooper required permission and consent under the EIA regulations, for what was considered a 'significant project', due to likely environmental impacts.
Mr Cooper carried out some ploughing and planting in breach of the regulations, and Natural England obtained an interim injunction from the High Court in May 2023.
This sought to restrain him from mechanically cultivating in fields containing potential archaeological significance.
The trial judge, however, decided that Natural England did not have the power or standing to bring a claim for the injunction.
Now, in a ruling passed down on 16 January 2025, the Court of Appeal has granted a permanent injunction in a bid to stop the ploughing the architecturally important land.
The Court of Appeal explained that the onus to obtain the necessary consent under the EIA regulations lay on Mr Cooper.
Judges also noted that the cost of preparing the environmental information required was estimated to be a relatively modest expense.
They noted it was roughly a third of the sum Mr Cooper had already paid in a fine and costs order when he was convicted in 2021 for breaching a stop notice.
Richard Honey KC and Jonathan Welch appeared for Natural England in the appeal to the court.
