This is a heartfelt plea to my family, friends and community. I have lived in North Devon for ten wonderful years, I was introduced to the area by my late husband in 2015. Since arriving I have carved out an amazing life for myself, gaining good friends, and following my passion working with community developing project which help to empower and support people which encourages our communities to thrive and grow.
I would describe myself as a community activist, it is important that we all have a platform to amplify our voices about all the things in life that matter to us. For several years I have planned and organised an annual Christmas day lunch for anyone in the town who would like company. The occasion provides an opportunity to build new friendships, eat delicious food and together and have fun at a time of the year many of us find extremely stressful.
I now find myself in a situation where I am having to sell my property because of mounting court fees incurred by the site owner who owns the land where my property is located. I am saddened about this as my property offers stunning grassland views the peace and tranquillity one seeks as we get older and has been a restful haven to entertain and spend precious and valuable time with my family and friends.
Having exhausted all other options, my request to anyone who can support me is assistance with my legal fees, these are in the region of £30,000. I'm guessing there are not many of us who can pluck that kind of money out of thin air and don't have a 'money tree' shaking out £'s everyday! If you can help it would mean so much to me. Once my legal fees are paid, I can move forward continuing my work in the community.
A Little More Insight...
I own my property out right..... It has a twelve month occupancy and for this reason the site owner is claiming that it should be for holiday usage only.... And here lies the battle!
I have an main address where I stay from time to time and use my lodge as a place to chill down, mainly in the winter months. In the summer there are occasions when I invite my family and friends for weekend visits so that we can spend time there together.
The site owner is taking me to court because he claims that I am living there full-time.
As you can imagine a court case is very costly. I am asking for your support to help in anyway you can with these costs which amount to tens of thousands of pounds to cover a special barrister who knows about property law and solicitors fees.
My alternative is that I will have to sell my lodge and use the sale to pay off the court fees. This will leave me in a position of being homeless and as a consequence seeking somewhere to rent with very little funds.
Ideally I would like the opportunity to pay my court fees and to keep my property, as having my own space is important for my continued wellbeing.