Man Fined Following Seven-Year Legal Battle Over Barge Mooring

A judge has informed a man, who engaged in a seven-year legal dispute with marine authorities concerning his right to moor his barge on a foreshore he owns in Cornwall, that he became “obsessed with a battle that has no purpose”. Dean Richards received a three-year conditional discharge and was directed to pay £15,000 in costs to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) at Truro Crown Court. Earlier this month, a jury determined Richards was guilty of violating the Marine and Coastal Access Act by mooring his 86ft (26m) barge on his property on the river at Point quay, situated between Truro and Falmouth, without the required licence. Judge Simon Carr remarked to Richards that the financial penalty constituted “the most self-inflicted wound I’ve ever seen”. Richards, a former bank manager now working as a care worker, is also engaged in a dispute with Cornwall Council concerning enforcement action initiated against him. The local authority asserted that planning permission was necessary to moor the former Royal Navy munitions barge in the riverside village. However, Mr Richards contended that such permission was not required, citing his possession of a Certificate of Lawfulness, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Arevik Jackson, representing the MMO as prosecutor, requested £21,000 in costs, which she characterized as a “conservative” figure. Truro Crown Court was informed that the land owned by Richards on the foreshore at Point had an estimated value of £35,000, while the barge’s scrap value was £3,000. Court documents indicated Richards carried significant debts, including credit card obligations and expenses from another unsuccessful legal matter, which Judge Carr also labeled “self-inflicted”. The judge informed Richards: “Your arguments in the vast amount of documentation this case has generated… show a quite extraordinary level of head in the sand over the reality of the situation.” He continued: “You’re an intelligent man – you have known from the beginning you have absolutely no defence to this case.” The judge further stated: “You could have changed the mooring style of the barge at any time and brought this to an end… it is utterly irrational.” He also remarked that “the desire to provide a home for yourself and your child on the moored barge on a human level one can understand”. Richards is required to pay £15,000 of the £21,000 requested by the MMO by the deadline of 23 May 2025.