David and Karen Yates have 11 days to leave their home in Bolton, which sits on land slated for housing development.
David and Karen Yates must leave by February 24th. The council gave them notice on December 31st. Their home is in Bolton and is 500 years old. They have just eleven days.
The land around the farmhouse is for homes. No building plans exist yet. David’s family farmed the 12.5 acres for 300 years. They have a cattery for 84 cats, and they also make barley straw for algae control. Karen runs a beauty business too.
Karen, 56, and David, 67, want to stay. They’d give up farmland for development and want their businesses to continue there. They house cats for elderly hospital patients.
Karen says the legal fight hurts their health. “We’ve nowhere to go,” she explained. They want to run their viable businesses, but she says the dispute greatly affects them and has been troubling them for a long time.
Councilor Les Webb wanted a meeting to meet with the Yateses and Sue Johnson. Johnson is Bolton council’s chief executive, but his request for a meeting was turned down.
Webb says negotiations about the farm failed. He aims to be fair in council matters. If he were CEO, he’d try one last time, seeking a solution to let them stay.
Webb knows the CEO has a hard job and sees the harm to their mental health. He asked Johnson to reconsider their situation because he wanted them to remain in their farmhouse. No one appears interested in his suggestion.
Bolton council says they reached an agreement with the Yateses through confidential mediation. The council cannot comment on the terms.