23/07/2009 - Caravans `needed for salad growing`
Caravans are needed to house migrant agricultural workers are a necessary component of cultivating the land, a High Court judge has ruled.
And on that basis he has refused a National Trust application to prevent a West Sussex farmer building a caravan site to accommodate his seasonal workforce.
The application hinged on a 1966 covenant instigated by a previous owner of South End Farm, Donnington, that stipulates: "No caravan, house on wheels, tent or similar object shall be permitted to be or remain on the said land".
Although it also said that none of the restrictions could prevent the cultivation of the land, the National Trust argued that a vehicle on wheels plays no part in the cultivation process.
It therefore maintained that the present owners, William and Cornelia Fleming, had no right to claim that caravans are an essential part their salad crop business, Goodend Produce.
But Mr Justice Henderson has found that the cultivation of lettuces does depend on migrant labour, and that the local custom is to house such workers on the farm.
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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