Dirty protestor survives eviction

Jul 15 2011 by Greg Christison, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

A LONG-RUNNING dispute between a Madderty pensioner and the local authority took a dramatic twist this week.

The PA reported on April 29 that retired pig farmer Peter Roy had been issued with an eviction notice after being unable to fork out approximately £20,000 in legal costs associated with a prolonged filthy campaign against Perth and Kinross Council (PKC).

But the 73-year-old has been allowed to continue living near to Craigmuir Farm, along with his disabled wife Catherine (81), after it emerged their static caravan was not pitched on land seized by sheriff officers.

The eviction notice referred only to the condemned house and dilapidated neighbouring out-houses which were valued at £25,000 in 2004.

However, it is believed the compound of caravans, which also accommodate three of the couple’s grown-up children, cannot be removed because they lie outwith the land previously owned by Mr Roy and therefore cannot be sequestered.

It is understood that, because the land on which they are located is privately owned, any further legal action on Mr Roy, who has pitched caravans on the site since 1973, would have to be instigated by the landowner, who is unknown to the PA.

Mr Roy yesterday described the site on which he lives as “no man’s land” but admitted the couple’s situation is set to worsen.

According to Mr Roy, the electricity supply is to be cut off, with it remaining unclear whether the water supply will also be disconnected.

He said: “I’ve put a spanner in the works, I’ve known about this for a while.

“The eviction has collapsed all around them. My lawyer has told us that they can’t shift our caravans without receiving complaints.”

Mr Roy gained notoriety after dumping oil barrels full of human excrement by the roadside in protest at PKC’s decision to evict him family from their former Bairds View home in Madderty in 1999.

The family were consequently forced to move into the caravans at Craigmuir, where Mr Roy ran a piggery.

But according to Mr Roy, who has been jailed on several occasions for refusing to pay fines in relation to his behaviour, he has been left penniless by the mammoth bill imposed by the local authority for the costly uplift of the human excrement.

He continued: “Perth and Kinross Council are the ones who put us in here.

“We’re bloody pensioners, why won’t they leave us alone?

“They’ve forced me to bath in there [the condemned house], that’s the whole reason I’ve been dumping the stuff at the end of the road. I was trying to get the message across.

“They say no one lives like this in this day and age but we do down here!”

On Tuesday, Mr Roy conceded to losing the ruin, which also houses his fridge and washing machine, after initially barricading himself inside the compound.

Following a stand-off with two sheriff officers, Mr Roy eventually agreed to remove his car which was blocking access to the property.

The officers were accompanied into the site by two police constables, three lawyers, a locksmith and a planning officer, who was responsible for determining the area of land to be seized.

Commenting on the costs involved in bringing the number of officials to the site, Mr Roy added: “I thought we were going through a recession just now. It’s just crazy.”

A spokesperson for PKC said yesterday: “The council does not comment on individual cases.”

Craigmuir was sold at auction in 2009 after an action for sequestration was brought by the council in order to pay debts owed.

At the time, the new owner of the land advised that they would be taking eviction proceedings at the earliest opportunity.