Case file · Series 13, Episode 7
Not in My Back Yard
A modern house divides a conservation group before accusations of planning corruption are followed by methodical killings.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
Planning paperwork, architectural taste and village influence form a surprisingly efficient machinery for murder.
- Best for
- Development · Local politics · Architecture
- Mood
- Classic
- Team
- DCI Tom Barnaby with DS Ben Jones
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. This is not a complete content advisory.
Why it matters
Planning paperwork, architectural taste and village influence form a surprisingly efficient machinery for murder.
A modern house divides a conservation group before accusations of planning corruption are followed by methodical killings.
Great Pelfe's conservation society erupts when the modern Swanscombe House features in an open-gardens event. Members publicly accuse the architect, builder and officials of corruption connected with a further planning application.
A leading campaigner is stabbed, evidence disappears and people linked to the alleged scheme die in deaths shaped by their professions. Barnaby and Jones realise that somebody is eliminating a chain of participants rather than merely winning a design argument.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The corruption allegations are substantially true, and the killer is covering a role in the scheme. The sequence of deaths follows who could expose the next link.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 13
- Episode number
- Episode 7
- Written by
- J.C. Wilsher
- Directed by
- Peter Smith
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 12 January 2011
- Reported filming period
- May–June 2010
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Great Pelfe
- Casebook tone
- Classic
Check the credits, then follow the source trail for production and filming details. Counts below describe this archive’s records.
The fictional setting and the real filming sites are separate pieces of information. The location desk currently connects it to 3 broader filming areas and 4 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer ledger1 episode credited to J.C. Wilsher
- Director ledger22 episodes directed by Peter Smith
- Release positionCase 80 of 144
- Story characterClassic · Development · Local politics
- Location evidence4 exact screen-use matches
Dorney Court represents Fiona Conway's Pelfe Hall.
Thame Town Hall appears as Causton Town Hall during the planning investigation.
Sources for the production file
Published episode chronology and credits ↗Official ITV programme page ↗Filming-location reference index ↗The chronology is the reference for the credits shown here. A programme homepage does not independently verify a filming date or every production detail. Where multiple transmission dates are listed, territory attribution needs checking. Story, teleplay and adaptation distinctions require the original credit wording; links to external synopses may reveal plot details.
Selected episode credits
Guest cast on file
Selected profiles and published cast-list entries. Database records are linked individually; this is not a full transcription or an independent check against the end credits.
Peter Egan
Published cast record ↗Alistair Petrie
Published cast record ↗Hugo Speer
Published cast record ↗Dorothy Atkinson
Published cast record ↗Linda Marlowe
Published cast record ↗The performers behind this case
Core cast
Actor profiles for the detective, investigating partner and pathologist credited to this episode.
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John Nettles
Tom Barnaby · Detective Chief InspectorAn English actor, author and narrator who was already a household name as Jersey detective Jim Bergerac. After Bergerac he spent five seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and later returned to television drama in Poldark.
- Bergerac
- Poldark
- Royal Shakespeare Company
Jason Hughes
Ben Jones · Police Constable · Detective Sergeant · InspectorA Welsh actor who first became widely known as Warren Jones in the BBC drama This Life. His later television work includes Marcella and The Pact, alongside substantial theatre work at venues including the Donmar Warehouse and Royal Court.
- This Life
- Marcella
- The Pact
Barry Jackson
Dr George Bullard · Police pathologistAn English stage and screen character actor whose career lasted more than five decades. His credits ranged from the landmark television play Cathy Come Home to Doctor Who, Barry Lyndon and many familiar British television dramas.
- Cathy Come Home
- Doctor Who
- Barry Lyndon
Portraits are used only where a reusable licence or public-domain release has been verified. Publicity stills and stock photographs are not copied into this independent guide.
Forensic desk
Dr George Bullard
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Barry Jackson
Causton's long-serving pathologist is professionally unflappable, quietly witty and an old friend of Tom Barnaby.
Meet the Casebook pathologists →Spoiler-controlled deaths desk
Deaths recorded in this case
3 source rows represent 3 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Maureen Stubbs
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
- Clifford Bunting
Murder · Crushing
- Geoff Rogers
Murder · Poisoning
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Beaconsfield Police Station
Used as: The building represents Midsomer Constabulary Police Station.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Dorney Court
Used as: The Tudor house becomes Pelfe Hall, Fiona Conway's home.
Great Haseley Village Hall
Used as: The hall is used as Liz Gerrard's house and farmstead.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
Thame Town Hall
Used as: The town hall returns as Causton Town Hall.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Building identities are cross-checked against the Casebook's published filming-location references. A named match describes the part used on screen, not the whole village and not necessarily an interior.
Wider filming areas
Places connected to this file
Beaconsfield
Old-town architecture, churches and nearby estates have supplied homes, police buildings and village streets throughout the run.
Open location →Great Haseley
Its village hall, church, pub and cottages repeatedly become community venues across different Midsomer villages.
Open location →Thame
A versatile Causton and village backdrop whose town hall, museum, shops and surrounding estates take many identities.
Open location →