Sheep farmer faces jail after secretly building second home inside barn on her 40-acre farm so she can live alongside her animals
The farmer insists the space was never a luxury home, but a simple base so she could stay close to her sheep during lambing season
A sheep farmer is facing jail after building a second home inside a barn on her 40-acre Derbyshire farm - then ignoring orders to stop living there.
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Helen Lowe, 59, was found guilty of contempt of court after failing to comply with legal orders to leave the makeshift accommodation, which Derbyshire Dales District Council said had been built without obtaining planning permission.
The council said Ms Lowe had been living in the unit since 2020 and had “deliberately hid it to avoid detection”.
She could now face up to two years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both, after being found guilty of flouting a court order.
But Ms Lowe has hit back, accusing the council of carrying out a “witch hunt” and wasting huge amounts of taxpayers’ money.
She insists the space was never a luxury home, but a simple base so she could stay close to her sheep during lambing season.
“It’s a temporary building to look after my sheep when they’re lambing. It’s not Windsor Castle,” she said.
“It’s just got facilities in it, a bed, windows. The council says it was concealed - but it wasn’t concealed at all.”
The row began in 2020, when the council served an enforcement notice after ruling the home had been built illegally inside a farm barn.
Ms Lowe had previously lived in a nearby bungalow, but sold it before moving into the structure during the Covid lockdown.
She challenged the enforcement notice, but the Planning Inspectorate threw out her appeal in February 2022 and ordered her to stop using the barn as a home.
When she failed to comply, the council secured a court order in September 2024 requiring her to leave.
Officials said she continued living there and did not carry out demolition work, leading to contempt proceedings in July 2025.
Following a trial at Nottingham County Court on 18 May, Ms Lowe was found guilty.
The council was awarded £10,000 in costs, though the overall bill from the six-year dispute is likely to be far higher.
Ms Lowe said the case had been a “complete waste” of public money.
“It was only built because I needed facilities here, and then during Covid I ended up staying longer,” she said.
“My priorities have been my animals, and that is what has got me into trouble.
“They’ve got to have spent hundreds of thousands, wasting money. It’s ridiculous.”
A spokesperson for Derbyshire Dales District Council said the ruling showed the “serious consequences” of ignoring planning rules.
“The planning system only works when everyone follows the same rules,” they said.
“It is not acceptable for a few people to disregard the process while most comply.”
But Ms Lowe said the case had taken a heavy personal toll and claimed the council pushed ahead with enforcement action while she was recovering from a serious injury.
The sheep farmer said she broke her femur after falling from her horse in April 2024, and has since had to relearn how to walk while continuing to deal with other health problems.
She also said the accommodation had been built using recycled and donated materials, with water supplied from a natural spring rather than mains water.
She added: “Despite everything, North Park Farm remains my happy place and the place where I care for my animals.”