I spent £40,000 on an ‘eyesore garden shed’ but council refuses to let me transform it – they say it’ll ruin the area
A WOMAN who spent £40,000 on an “eyesore garden shed” has been refused permission by the council to transform it.
Intisar Al-Shawi, 78, bought the unused building in the middle of nowhere, in Kent, a decade ago in the hope of turning it into a home for her son.
But those plans were quickly scuppered following two lots of rejection – forcing the retied eye surgeon to rethink.
The renovation was then set to become an office space for Intisar with an added extension when planning rules stated that it couldn’t be converted into a home.
She submitted an application so work could get underway but again was met with further hurdles and two more “no’s” from officials.
In a meeting last week Councillor Patrik Garten said: “It is not even slightly bigger than a garden shed.
“It is in the middle of nowhere there is no reason for this building to be used as an office, it is not proposed to be a forestry or farm office.”
Describing the building as a “brick shed”, Councillor Tony Harwood added: “For the very tiny gain for the economy there’s an awful lot of harm to the landscape.”
Councillor Claudine Russell added: “It’ll be urbanisation in an area where there isn’t anything.
“I agree that you could squeeze a tiny office in there, but should we? What is the point in that?”
Despite local uproar and multiple attempts at trying to make the unused building into something, Intisar said she thought the process would be “straightforward”.
She told KentOnline: “I thought it so straightforward – make this little building into a home for him in the countryside, and it’s become a disaster.
“Since then failure after failure after failure.”
Fuming, the mum asked why she was allowed to by the property for £25k if she wasn’t going to be allowed to do anything with it.
She added: “I asked, ‘why didn’t you tell me before I wasted my time and money?’
“I thought I would rent it out for a while [as an office] then apply to change it into a home.
“That’s all I want at the end of the day, I want it to be a home for my son.”
The 10-year ordeal has cost her over £12k in planning matters costs.
Intisar reached her wits end and tried flogging the property but found no takers.
She added: “I can’t sell it because nobody wants to buy it. Who’s going to buy land you can’t do anything with? Nobody.”
What to do if your planning application is refused
According to Homeowners Alliance, if your planning application has been refused and you feel the decision is unfair, you can launch an appeal.
This must be done within three months.
You should also speak to the planning officer and local planning authority for clarification about why it was refused.