We hate our neighbour’s ‘alien’ cabin – they put it up without permission & it’s turned our area into a ‘shopping mall’
HOMEOWNERS have complained about a neighbour’s “alien” cabin they say was put up without permission and has turned their area into a ‘shopping mall’.
There have been angry protests after a property sales cabin was put up at a Kent beauty spot.
The new structure was being used to promote 222 new homes being built on a nearby development called The Greenways.
But housebuilding giant Redrow has now been ordered to tear it down, after council chiefs ruled it didn’t have planning permission.
The temporary office was installed in a former colliery’s car park near Betteshanger Country Park, near Deal.
Residents unhappy about its arrival are now celebrating after Redrow were refused retrospective planning permission by Dover District Council, KentOnline reported.
The decision came after 40 objections were sent in to planning bosses.
Redrow had insisted the “one-storey sales and marketing cabin” had “a quality finish”.
But planning officers instead described it as “an unjustified, unrelated, jarring, alien, discordant feature in this setting”.
The cabin was “spoiling the natural quality and appearance of the park” as well as creating “hazards” to visitors, their report added.
Among the objectors was Bryony Brooks, who asked: “Why can’t the country park remain a haven for wildlife?
“Please leave our park alone and stop it becoming a shopping mall.”
Emma Richards, another neighbour, called the cabin “totally out of character for the area”, while Sholden Parish Council said it “blights the current landscape”.
The district council confirmed the retrospective bid was refused, adding that their planning enforcement teams were looking at what to do next.
A Redrow spokesman said they were now “in the process of decommissioning and removing the cabin” after having their application rejected.
The row comes after locals living near a Norfolk beauty spot accused a neighbour of building an ‘illegal’ holiday home.
Elsewhere in Kent a hotelier became so worried about a next-door pub being demolished for newbuild homes, he has bought it himself.
Others, like Redrow, told to tear down developments include a family in Bolton, Greater Manchester, who had built an extension.
And locals in Newport in Wales criticised “jobsworth” officials wanting them to remove privacy fences.
What are your retrospective planning permission rights?
A local planning authority can invite a retrospective application, according to Gov.uk.
You should submit your application without delay.
Although a local planning authority may invite an application, you must not assume permission will be granted.
A person who has undertaken unauthorised development has only one opportunity to obtain planning permission after the event.
This can either be through a retrospective planning application or an appeal against an enforcement notice – on the grounds that planning permission should be granted or the conditions should be removed.
The local planning authority can decline a retrospective planning application if an enforcement notice has previously been issued.
No appeal may be made if an enforcement notice is issued within the time allowed for determination of a retrospective planning application.