Son of England cricket legend in fight with neighbour he claims ruined £3.85m sale of home

Jeremy Cowdrey says the actions of his neighbour, who lives in a barn conversion nearby, repeatedly undermined his efforts to sell his home. The son of England cricket legend Colin Cowdrey is locked in a bitter court fight with a neighbour he claims ruined the sale of his £3.85m home.

Film producer Jeremy Cowdrey, whose dad skippered England and was the first man to play 100 Tests, first fell out with his neighbour, former futures trader Vanessa Gibson, over claims his tennis court trespassed onto land she owns. He says she then embarked on a campaign of lies, aimed at jeopardising the sale of his sprawling ten-acre country home in order to "extract money" from him.

Mr Cowdrey accuses Ms Gibson of falsely declaring his home is blighted by problems with flooding and awkward utility services, as well as falsely suggesting the tennis court row was live, when it had in fact been settled. He says the actions of his neighbour, who lives in a barn conversion nearby, repeatedly undermined his efforts to sell his home, Crowbourne Farm, in Goudhurst, Kent, costing him the chance of pocketing £3.85m.

The 64-year-old, who carved out a lucrative career as a stockbroker before diverting into film production, is now suing Ms Gibson for around £350,000, including “aggravated damages” for alleged “malicious falsehood” on her part. His action includes a claim for an injunction to bar harassment and reflect his “anxiety and distress” based on what he says is Ms Gibson’s persistent email campaign.

But Ms Gibson, 55, who is representing herself in the action, denies all his claims, insisting that she has done her best to deal straightforwardly with her neighbour in good faith and to mediate any conflicts. Crowbourne Farm is made up of a sprawling Grade II-listed farmhouse with its own wine cellar, a separate guest cottage, studio, barn and workshop, a quadruple car port and over ten acres of grounds, including a tennis court, stables, woods and two lakes.

The luxury property was put up for sale in June 2023 with an asking price of over £3.25m, but Mr Cowdrey says a string of potential purchasers were put off due to Ms Gibson’s obstructive attitude, claiming he could have walked away with an £3.85m offer but for her meddling.

Sketching out his case at Central London County Court, his barrister, Brooke Lyne, told Judge Nigel Butler it involved a "series of false allegations" by Ms Gibson. “They were essentially that, in the period leading up to the sale which was due to happen in June 2023, Ms Gibson through a series of emails and in correspondence made a series of allegations that there had been breaches of restrictive covenants, which she said benefited her land, and which we say were false.”.

The alleged false claims included assertions that there were ongoing flooding issues, said the barrister, as well as claims that some water and sewage services cross her land, despite there being no right for that. “There had been a previous dispute about a strip of land, which had been resolved, and it’s alleged that Ms Gibson maintained that this was still a live dispute, although that had been resolved,” he said.

That referred to a spat over Mr Cowdrey’s tennis court, sparked off after Ms Gibson complained that his astroturf court “sliced through” a strip of land she owns. Mr Cowdrey claims he had accepted an offer from a couple for £3.85m, but that they backed out, as did two other potential purchasers.

He blames that on Ms Gibson, the court heard. But in court Ms Gibson, who described herself as a “very private person”, flatly denied the claims against her. Addressing the flooding issue, she said problems started in 2022 when Mr Cowdrey “expressed concerns about the height of a lake near his property”.

The flooding problem affected both their properties, although possibly originating elsewhere, she told Judge Butler, adding that it remains a recurring issue and insisting that the cause is a poorly maintained overflow in one of Mr Cowdrey’s two lakes.

Dealing with trial management issues at a preliminary hearing last week, Judge Butler refused Mr Cowdrey’s bid to increase his compensation bid to £550,000 to reflect the alleged “blight” on his property caused by Ms Gibson’s actions. But he permitted Mr Cowdrey to pursue a claim for “aggravated damages” on top of his existing claim.

“The essence of the allegation is that she behaved in this way because she was trying to extract money from Mr Cowdrey by making knowingly false allegations at a time when he was trying to sell his property in the hope that she would be paid out something by him in effect to keep her quiet," he noted.

Mr Cowdrey is the second son of Colin, Lord Cowdrey, who was the first cricketer to be made a peer for his services to the game. Lord Cowdrey was an outstanding batsman, famed for his style and nonchalance both on and off the field, with one commentator saying he seemed to “charm rather than strike the ball” and a fellow England player labelling him an “unbridled genius”.