Blackwater Carr to be sold after Broads Authority yurt row

Conservationists Steve Hooper and Mary Alexander say they have been forced to sell Blackwater Carr, a small fen and woodland in Postwick, due to the dispute.

The pair had big ambitions for the land but they say it has all been derailed after they were told to remove the canvas-covered structure - an integral part of their project - by the Broads Authority (BA).

It has left them devastated after funnelling "large sums" of money into the reserve and they have since had to make a scientist they employed redundant. 

The yurt at Blackwater Carr was built to be used for research and educational activities (Image: Broads Authority)

BIG AMBITIONS

Mr Hooper and Mrs Alexander dreamed of making Blackwater Carr a thriving nature reserve since buying the land in 2019 for £59,000.

They have worked hard to boost its biodiversity in five years, estimating at least 1,000 different species now live there compared to 600 when they bought the site.

He said: “I spent a year looking at other sites before finding the paradise, otherwise known as Blackwater Carr.

A grass snake being inspected at the site (Image: Blackwater Carr)

"We managed to increase biodiversity. Slow worms, grass snakes, stoats, toads and water voles have all made it their home as well as 28pc of the UK's endangered bird species."

They erected a yurt at the site to be used as a base for research and educational activities at the reserve, allowing for overnight stays if needed.

However, this was refused permission by the BA, who complained it was harming the Broads landscape and also worried it would be at risk of flooding due to its location in a floodplain. 

Henry Cator, chairman of the Norfolk Strategic Flooding Alliance (Image: Bill Smith)

The decision came despite widespread support from locals and even a plea from Henry Cator, chairman of the Norfolk Strategic Flood Alliance, for "common sense to prevail".

This started the lengthy planning dispute with the organisation, which ended this month after the couple lost their appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

A heron spotted during the couple's morning walk at Blackwater Carr (Image: Blackwater Carr)

The official disagreed that the yurt harmed the conservation area, calling it "sympathetic to the surrounding landscape" and also acknowledged the positive benefits of the couple's conservation work.

However, he decided it did not outweigh the potential risk of harm due to flooding of the yurt.

An aerial view of the Blackwater Carr site, where you can see the white-domed yurt in view (Image: Google)

'BACKWARDS STEP'

Mr Hooper has criticised the BA for its opposition to the yurt, believing the benefits of the conservation work to the Norfolk Broads were ignored.

They see the BA's decision as being short-sighted, based on strict regulations that is stalling progress of projects like theirs, claiming the "system is failing".

The Broads Authority maintenance yard on the River Yare at Postwick, close to the Blackwater Carr site (Image: Newsquest)

He said: "Given the new biodiversity net gain requirements for developers, this seems a backward step.

"Without regular maintenance, all of our efforts to boost wildlife is at risk.

"We will have to make our biology graduate redundant and sell the site, which has been made unsustainable by the BA."

Jeremy Clarkson has had his own planning disputes to contend with at his farm (Image: PA)

The couple has likened their experience to Jeremy Clarkson's high-profile battle for permission to run a restaurant on his farm.

The widespread publicity of the decision to shut the restaurant down has since led to the law surrounding changing the use of agricultural buildings to be changed - known as the 'Clarkson's Clause'.

He said: "We feel hugely let down".

Mr Hooper added that taking further legal action and bringing the case to the High Court would be too costly for them and that the stress would be "unbearable".

The pair say they will be forced to abandon the project and the several years of conservation work they have conducted, leaving the future of this wildlife haven uncertain. 

The BA did not wish to comment.