Villagers battle woman who wants to keep alpacas after coma ordeal

Villagers in Norfolk have become embroiled in a planning row with a woman who wants to keep alpacas on her land.

Lauren Talbot, 37, said she wanted to live with the animals in quaint West Dereham but residents claimed it 'harms the character of the surrounding area'.

The dog groomer survived a potentially fatal septic shock four years ago and decided to change her lifestyle, buying six acres of land near her home to keep horses, goats and chickens.

But she faced backlash from residents who fought her move, objecting to plans for a cabin - in which Miss Talbot had hoped to live - on the land.

They said her plans had 'a negative impact' on the village and accused her of 'using the need for animal welfare as leverage' to move on to the land, for which she paid £85,000.

Miss Talbot's supporters said she had faced a 'hate campaign' on social media - one admitted it made them 'ashamed' to be part of the village, which another described as 'full of haters'.

She hopes to increase the size of her alpaca herd to around 30 while selling their wool and setting up a space for disabled adults and children to visit them.

Miss Talbot said: 'People say it's a mess at the moment. I know it doesn't look spectacular but it's a work in progress.

'I've lived in this village for eight years and in all that time I've never had an issue with anybody until I bought this land and then all the hate came out.

'It's been really brutal, it's been awful.

'If I had the opportunity to do it again, I wouldn't.'

She said her life changed after she survived life-threatening septic shock following a kidney operation in September 2022.

Miss Talbot added: 'I was in a coma for two weeks, I was lucky to survive.

'When I came out of hospital, I decided I wanted to do something I really enjoy doing.

'This land came up for sale in 2023, I bid for it and it was accepted.'

She said those objecting to her efforts to live on the land had not come to speak with her.

Anger erupted when Miss Talbot applied to turn a caravan used for storage on the animals' paddock into 'temporary agricultural accommodation'.

One villager said on West Norfolk Council's planning portal that there was no need for anyone to live in the property because alpacas were 'low-maintenance livestock' which do not require constant on-site supervision.

Another complained to the council that Miss Talbot lived five minutes' drive from her land but was rarely seen tending to the animals grazing on it.

One said: 'The welfare of animals on site has caused great concern within the village.

'Residents have often contacted the owner to inform her of animals being caught up in the fence, having got out through defective fencing and running free on the road and the occasional sick animal.'

There have also been complaints over the state of the six-acre plot, which was having 'a negative impact' on the village because of animals escaping.

One objector said: 'There are various building materials and non-agricultural equipment being stored on the property.

'A car is being stored, along with a range of other scrap materials that significantly impact on the character of the surrounding area.'

Miss Talbot's application to erect the 'agricultural storage' cabin on her property was approved two years ago despite 22 objections including complaints over the state of the site.

She also received eight letters of support, with one saying there had been a 'hate campaign' against her on social media.

Another said: 'I am a little ashamed to say I am a part of this village, with the behaviour of some of its residents.'

A third added the village was 'full of haters and people who fear and do not want change'.

Shortly before the first application was decided, Miss Talbot told parish councillors that she intended to live in the cabin because she was facing eviction from another property at the time but wished to remain in the village.

She no longer faces eviction, with one villager describing her latest application as 'a move to bypass standard residential development restrictions in the countryside'.

Another opponent said she intended to create a permanent address for herself 'by using the need for animal welfare as leverage'.

Applicants usually have to show an agricultural business has been operating for at least three years before applying to change the use of a building to live in it.

Miss Talbot has withdrawn her plans but said they would be resubmitted shortly to address this point.

She said: 'I'm looking to put in an application for a start-up business, and because it's a start-up business it can't have been here for three years.

'They usually give you planning for three years, then you have to show you're a viable business to make it permanent.'

In a statement Miss Talbot's agent said: 'The proposed development supports animal welfare, biosecurity and the continuity of the farming operation. The structure is modest, reversible and visually appropriate.'