Ogie now plans to take a legal battle to the United Nations.
A man denied planning permission to build a house has declared the land an independent country, calling it ‘Everland’, and declared himself King, the Metro has reported.
Steve Ogie, 46, wanted to build a small home on an area of land he owns near near Castle, Guernsey but his application was refused, so he is now campaigning for it to be recognised as its own state.
Ogie went to the Royal Court on Guernsey but was told as it had no population, it couldn’t be a country, so Ogie argued it had population of worms and insects yet the court rejected this too. Ogie now plans to take a legal battle to the United Nations.
He said: “I wanted to build a small home there, but Guernsey planners wouldn’t allow it and I got to the end of my straw and declared independence.
“I wanted to get my two bed home with a flat roof, that’s all I’ve ever wanted. Everland is 150ft long and about 50ft wide, I intend to live there.
“I expect I’ll win, I think I’m correct. It should have all blown over in 10 years, hopefully before. They’ve tried to get me with an injunction but that’s been adjourned until I can prove I’m a micro-nation.
“The judge said one man can’t govern himself, I’ve got my daughter as part of the population as well – Princess Evalyn Ogier, she’s eight. I’ve now got a population of five citizens and they’re all voting citizens –that makes them a population.
“No one is resident currently but they have passports and they have a vote. It’s a legal document, they can use the passport to get a driving license – but it will only be valid in Everland.”
Ogie has ignored the three compliance notices sent to him to say to stop the development of the land and in court, argued that it to have a state it needs to have a stable community and population, under the terms of the Montevideo Convention of 1933.
He argued he didn’t recognise Guernsey Court’s jurisdiction because Everland was an independent state and that it could be considered to have a population because of the wildlife such as earthworms and insects.
Deputy Bailiff Richard McMahon, who heard an application from the Development and Planning Authority (DPA) and who sought an injunction to stop Ogie’s development with the land, concluded that Everland was not a ‘micro nation’ or sovereign state.
He said: “Although there maybe an element of absurdity in the way the argument has been developed by Mr Ogier, I take the view that any challenge to the jurisdiction of this court must be taken seriously.”
DPA representative Robin Gist went ahead with injunction application to prevent future work from Ogie.
Ogie said: “I don’t intend to do any more work until I can prove I am an independent country. I’ve sent an email to the United Nations and I’m awaiting confirmation.
“I’ve explained who I am and I’m waiting to hear whether it’s enough to be considered independent. We’ve got no sports players in Everland so we won’t be entering the World Cup, but we’ll see where it gets. I intend to fight my corner and defend myself in the courts.”
