A council has “ambushed” a court with additional evidence “at the eleventh hour”, – sparking a delay in a decision in the dispute between the council and former glamour model Jodie Marsh on her licence to keep lemurs on her Essex farm. Ms Marsh is appealing against a decision by Uttlesford Council to refuse her a licence to keep dangerous wild animals at her private animal sanctuary, Fripps Farm, in Lindsell, north of Braintree and Great Dunmow.
The former model appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on January 14 for the hearing, when the court was told the council submitted new evidence on January 10, something the former model called “insane.” The case has now been adjourned until April 25.
District Judge Christopher Williams said it was “not good enough.” He told the court: “It’s disappointing; everyone involved thought the hearing was going ahead today; it’s not good enough, and I really apologise to everyone involved. Miss Marsh, I apologise to you, you wanted an answer and I do apologise. It sounds like it should be an effective hearing at the next date.”
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Paul Oakley, barrister representing Miss Marsh, told the court: “There’s no other word for it, this was an ambush at the eleventh hour. I cannot properly represent my client on an ad hoc basis and the court has granted an indulgence of the council.”
Mark Smith, barrister for the council, said he wanted to “object to the term ambush” and this was “not a deliberate attempt.” The judge ruled to allow a vet’s report to be used as evidence. The report is into the suitability of Miss Marsh for keeping lemurs, but he threw out the witness statements of former employees and other critics of the former bodybuilder. He also said it is “clear there is significant animosity between Miss Marsh and people in the area.”
The model turned animal rescuer insists she is “doing something so good and so pure and I am still being trolled.” She also says “there would be no impact from the lemurs on the neighbours at all.”
Speaking after the hearing, Miss Marsh said: “This is insane, it was a good outcome for us today. It’s really good he’s dismissed all these stupid witness statements. I was chomping at the bit. The other witness statements were from disgruntled ex-employees, and these are people who are beyond nuts. The impact of it being delayed is that these lemurs need a home. This guy specifically does not want them going to Monkey World; these lemurs need a home.
“They need rescuing; they are not being cared for properly right now, and the guy who’s got them wants them to only come to me because he trusts me. This has cost me tens of thousands of pounds but don’t worry about what it’s cost me, the public should be worried about what it’s cost Uttlesford Council because that’s public money they are spending. I think the residents of Uttlesford would be horrified that’s where their money is being spent. I think the court did absolutely the right thing, I think the judge was brilliant in that he really did consider everything single thing, he didn’t make the decision lightly.
“I am doing something so good and so pure and I am still being trolled, I am rescuing animals, I am doing something good, pure and amazing. That tells you the state of the world you can’t even do something good, without people attracting you and trolling you. The properties in the area live on five acres of land so we are not talking about terraced houses, there would be no impact from the lemurs on the neighbours at all, they just don’t want me rescuing animals and they’ve made that clear.
“It’s absolutely personal, it’s a hate campaign, it’s a vendetta. If this was little old Mary, they would all be helping her, because it’s Jodie Marsh with her ex-modelling days and everything else, it is a personal hate campaign and a vendetta. The lemurs are still at the previous owners who has openly admitted he’s not got time for them, they are not being looked after properly, he works abroad a lot and they are left in the care of his wife who doesn’t know how to and doesn’t want to look after them. It’s been going on over a year now.
“I am doing good in the world, what we are doing is nothing short of a miracle. Everybody who comes to Fripps doesn’t want to leave. Everybody says this place is unbelievable, I don’t want to leave. It’s not just a sanctuary for animals, it’s a sanctuary for people as well, the people we’ve saved at Fripps. We’ve invited them for a day and they’ve been depressed, been suicidal, they’ve been having therapy, counselling, and they come to Fripps for the day and they go I feel like my whole mindset has changed, I feel like all the darkness has lifted, I dont want to go home, i love it here so much , because it’s such a beautiful place. How can it not be beautiful, when the whole, entire property is about saving lives, how can that not be beautiful.”