We were fined £25,000 after neighbors complained about our luxury bed and breakfast

A HUGE couple have lashed out at their neighbors after being fined £25,000 by a court after an argument broke out on their exclusive private path at a luxury bed and breakfast in the morning. their £1 million house.

Former Grenadier Guard officer Steven Marcham and his partner have been banned from accepting paying guests to their home in New Forest, Hampshire.

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He angrily protested that “it’s not like we’re running a brothel” but a judge ruled that they were no longer allowed to operate the bed and breakfast.

Mr. Marcham, 66, and Diana Groves, 65, rocked the neighborhood after they decided to come up with a “fun” business idea.

The couple were confused when they received a letter from their attorney in 2019 warning that they were violating the terms of their home purchase.

In the letter, their neighbors complained about guests using the outdoor swimming pool at their seven-bed home and about “seeing lots of cars parked at your property.”

They also warned the couple that they had violated their “restrictive covenant” – a binding part of their sales contract that prevented them from accepting paying guests.

Desmond and Colette Taylor and Trevor and Shirley Hands have both sued the couple and asked for a court order banning the B&B, plus damages.

After a lengthy legal battle at London’s Central District Court, Judge Nicholas Parfitt banned them from operating the bed and breakfast and left them with a £25,000 court bill.

During the hearing, Ms. Groves told the court they had been on friendly terms with two other couples, with their teenage daughter, and even with the Taylors’ baby who was babysitting.

The couple decided to test their bed and breakfast after their adult children left the house, but said they ended up not earning a dime due to disruptions caused by their door locks. Covid.

Neighbors claim Major Marcham and Ms Groves crossed the line by renting out two bedrooms at their home, ‘Avonhurst’, for £90 a night.

They said it caused “annoying and annoying” on a private country road in tree-lined Ringwood.

Before their case went to court, Ms Groves said they felt their neighbors were “against them” and added: “It’s not like we’re running a brothel.”

In July last year, Taylors and the Hands secured a court ruling against Major Marcham and Ms. Groves, ruling that they violated their covenant by operating the bed and breakfast.

Judge Parfitt also awarded their neighbors £1,000 each and ordered the bed and breakfast closed permanently.

Maj Marcham and Ms. Groves have suggested their neighbors “get into litigation and overreact” and argue that their cost bills should be cut to reflect that.

They claimed that the cost bill was overblown by involving attorneys at all stages, rather than resolving the matter on an “individual” basis.

‘VERY LOST’

But the judge dismissed the criticism as “unreasonable”, adding that the Taylors and Hands had the right to negotiate through their attorneys rather than speaking directly to Major Marcham and Ms. Groves.

“There is no reason for plaintiffs to treat defendants through their attorneys – not at all,” he said.

He expressed his sympathies to the fact that bed and breakfast operators had to receive a £23,000 bill.

But he added: “You have to remember that they have to pay those costs – whether they are justified or not – to vindicate their point that you shouldn’t be running a bed and breakfast. shining”.

On top of that, the judge slapped them with a court order banning “the operation of a motel and breakfast from this property”.

Maj Marcham told the judge: “We are very disappointed by this ruling but we will get on with our lives, and that’s all that matters. We will pay very quickly. ”

The couple’s business finally closed its store in July last year, but is now unable to reopen following an order from Judge Parfitt.

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