Two dilapidated barns at the farm once owned by Tony Martin, who gained notoriety for shooting a teenage burglar, have been approved for conversion into four homes. West Norfolk Council granted permission for the redevelopment of the two buildings in Emneth Hungate.
The planned properties include two four-bedroom houses, one three-bedroom home, and a single five-bedroom residence. The application was put forward by Jacqueline Wadsley, 52, who was named the sole beneficiary of Martin's £2.5 million estate in February.
Previous plans submitted in May by Wadsley, which involved converting five barns into ten houses, were withdrawn. Those initial proposals had raised concerns from the council's ecology officer, Claire Wiggs, regarding the potential impact on wildlife. Wiggs noted a lack of ecological information and called for preliminary assessments, stating the possible presence of protected species such as breeding birds, bats, and badgers.
Concerns were also raised by Norfolk County Council's highways development management officer, Richard Smith, about the adequacy of the single carriageway road leading to the farm. He highlighted its lack of footways, dedicated cycle links, and poor visibility, suggesting that ten homes would generate too many vehicle movements to ensure highway safety. Smith advised scaling down the development to a maximum of four homes to create a more proportional development.
The newly approved, smaller scheme qualified for permitted development rights, allowing conversions without a full planning application. An ecological survey for this revised plan indicated a negligible effect on wildlife. The application also stated that developing four homes would not significantly increase traffic compared to the needs of previous agricultural operations.
This development does not involve Bleak House, the derelict farmhouse where Martin, in 1999, shot intruder Fred Barras, 16, dead and injured accomplice Brendan Fearon, then 29, with an unlicensed shotgun. Martin was convicted of murder and wounding but his sentence was reduced on appeal to five years for manslaughter. The case ignited a national debate on homeowners' rights to self-defense against intruders.
Following his release from prison in 2003, Martin, who died aged 80 in February of the previous year, did not return to Bleak House, often sleeping in his car parked at his farm. He developed a friendship with Wadsley, who ran a pub in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, described as similar to a father-daughter relationship. Martin appointed Wadsley and her husband as executors of his will in 2013, leaving his entire estate to her.
Additionally, 164 acres of land surrounding the farm are currently listed for sale in two lots, with a combined asking price of £1.37 million.