Tory councillor ‘assaults villager’ in £1m home row
A WEALTHY Tory councillor and former aide to Sir Edward Heath has been charged with assault in a long-running row over his Manor House.
Robert Vaudry, who was a private secretary to the late former Prime Minister, has been at loggerheads with residents in the village of Dorsington over his attempts to turn his £1million property into a wedding and conference venue.
The former investment banker has likened locals’ opposition to the film Hot Fuzz – in which eccentric residents of a small village rail against anything which could harm the ‘greater good’.
But Dorsington residents fear the proposals would create excessive noise, increased traffic and an upsurge in crime in the Warwickshire hamlet.
Yesterday, it emerged that Councillor Vaudry, 51, has been charged with pushing villager Paul Turner, 70, in the chest after the pair became embroiled in a dispute connected to the planning row.
The alleged assault in March took place
‘His demeanour was aggressive’
as Mr Turner was fixing a community noticeboard in the centre of Dorsington, which has a population of 138.
Councillor Vaudry began advertising his home as a wedding venue in late 2012 – before he had even applied for planning permission. He has since had his proposals rejected twice, both by Stratford-on-Avon District Council – on which he represents nearby Bishopton ward – and the planning inspectorate.
But he has held several events at the property, claiming these were private and therefore not subject to planning permission. The father of three is now awaiting the result of an appeal against an enforcement notice issued to him following an event held at the Grade II-listed Moat House just before Christmas.
Mr Turner said he was putting a new padlock on the noticeboard’s glass panel after villagers complained that two council notices confirming the enforcement action and a decision not to grant planning permission to the Moat House had been mysteriously removed.
The retired engineer added: ‘Councillor Vaudry walked towards me and while I cannot go into the specifics of the alleged assault, what I can say is that his demean- our was aggressive and things progressed from there.’
The councillor denies the charge and is due to appear before magistrates at Warwickshire Justice Centre next month.
He was said to be on holiday yesterday and unavailable for comment. But he told a local newspaper last week he had been subjected to ‘positively evil’ abuse from a ‘ handful of neighbours’, adding: ‘For some of the hardcore residents, it’s like Hot Fuzz – the greater good is always what they want to do.’ The 2007 comedy stars Simon Pegg as a London PC, who is sent to a rural village where he detects a sinister conspiracy among the locals.
A Dorsington residents’ association spokesman denied any personal animosity towards the councillor, adding: ‘We do not like what he is planning to do, it is that simple.’