Two dilapidated barns on the farm once owned by Tony Martin, who shot and killed a teenage burglar, have been granted approval by West Norfolk Council to be converted into four homes. The approved development includes two four-bedroom houses, one three-bedroom property, and a five-bedroom house.
Jacqueline Wadsley, 52, the sole beneficiary of Martin's £2.5 million estate, had previously withdrawn plans in May for a larger scheme that would have converted five barns into ten houses. That earlier proposal had raised concerns from the council's ecology officer regarding potential impacts on protected species such as breeding birds, reptiles, and bats, as well as the presence of badgers within a 2km radius.
Concerns were also voiced by Norfolk County Council's highways department about the adequacy of the single carriageway road leading to the farm, noting its lack of footways or dedicated cycle links and poor visibility. The highways officer suggested that a development of ten homes would lead to an unacceptable increase in vehicle movements, recommending the scheme be scaled down to a maximum of four homes for a more proportional development.
The newly approved, smaller scheme qualified for permitted development rights, allowing the conversions to proceed without the full planning application process. An ecological survey for this smaller project indicated a negligible effect on wildlife. The application also stated that the addition of four homes would not significantly increase traffic compared to the volume previously generated for agricultural purposes.
Separately, 164 acres of land surrounding the farm are currently on sale in two lots for £1.37 million.
The barns approved for conversion are not the derelict farmhouse, Bleak House, where Martin used an unlicensed shotgun in 1999 to shoot intruder Fred Barras, 16, and injure accomplice Brendan Fearon, then 29. Martin was convicted of murder and wounding and initially sentenced to life imprisonment, but his sentence was reduced on appeal to five years for manslaughter. He was released from prison in 2003.
Martin, who died in February of the previous year at the age of 80, developed a friendship with Wadsley, a pub landlady. He reportedly left his entire estate to her and her husband, David, whom he named as executors of his will in 2013.