I’ve been ordered to rip down my 58cm-high decking after neighbour moaned – now we’re losing £1,000s
A PAIR of cafe owners are fuming after being ordered to tear down a tiny 58cm-high deck after a neighbour complained about ‘privacy’.
The bitter planning dispute was sparked after complaints were made about the structure at The Lookout Cafe, situated on the Gower Peninsula in Wales.
Co-owners Steve Lancey, 43, and Simon Morris, 46, were forced to fork out thousands in their bid to keep the deck – which is only big enough to fit one small picnic table.
They went through three planning applications, two appeals, and two inspections before finally being slapped with the crushing enforcement notice.
They are local boys and run an excellent business. Gower is a holiday area.
Richard Lewis
The frustrated businessmen were gobsmacked after the Planning Inspectorate ruled it would have to be torn down, along with some wooden fencing.
They had added the outdoor seating area in 2019, to offer customers gorgeous sea views and extra space.
But, Steve and Simon had not sought planning permission.
‘UNNEIGHBOURLY’
When they applied retrospectively, the pair were denied due to the deck being a “unneighbourly development”.
The 58cm high structure was constructed next to a wall which separated the cafe from a resident next door.
Officials determined it would impact on the neighbour’s privacy to have cafe customers sat so close.
And, The Gower Society, in charge of overseeing Britain’s oldest area of natural outstanding beauty on the Welsh coast, also objected.
They claimed The Lookout had “scant regard” for those who share a boundary with them, and for the “iconic village”.
Before officially losing their costly fight to keep their seating area, Steve and Simon’s planning agent argued a glazed screen on top of the wall could solve the privacy issue.
But, this idea was vehemently rejected by the Rhossili Conservation Area and Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
‘DISGRACE’
Despite backlash from the Planning Inspectorate, the cafe was honoured to receive 105 letters of support.
And, Gower councillor Richard Lewis said it was a “disgrace” that the award-winning eatery had been forced to rip out their decking.
He added: “They are local boys and run an excellent business. Gower is a holiday area – we don’t make our money from farming as much as we used to – and it means jobs.
“Half the caravan sites in Gower have got decking.”
Planning wars
A WAR hero who built a castle by hand for veterans to take time out is tragically being forced to tear it down for a second time.
Ex-lance corporal Mike Allen, 43, worked on the cabin in Sirhowy Valley, South Wales as a way to deal with his PTSD.
But he has again been told by the local council that it doesn’t meet regulations, saying it feared “agricultural land is being used for recreational purposes”.
The veteran, who’s been dubbed a “real life Rambo”, has now appealed the council’s decision in the hopes of saving his castle.
The remote retreat was first bulldozed in 2018, but a campaign by The Sun helped Mike find a new location for a new cabin.
Mike rebuilt the cabin in 2019 with £200 worth of stone and timber but is now fundraising to stop his cabin being demolished for a second time.
He says the castle has been used for yoga, meditation, fitness sessions, star gazing, family hikes by many and over time.
He said this week: “They said I could come here and build what I wanted to. They didn’t expect a castle to be honest but it’s just evolved into that over time.
“I built this with absolutely no money at all.
“I collected all the stone myself and carried all the logs across so with that there is no cement and treated wood at all so it’s got a short lifespan – we always knew that.
“We are just going to try now to redevelop the castle into parts by the specified regulation.”
The Planning Inspectorate and Gower Society have been contacted for comment.
It comes as many Brits up and down the UK have been forced to tear down beloved structures.
A dad was fuming after being ordered to bulldoze two beautiful countryside homes he built for his family.
Michael Merrill completed construction on his land called Six Acres in Wirswall, Cheshire, before being hit by a barrage of complaints from locals and neighbours.
He was slapped with an enforcement notice after the council ruled he had erected the properties without planning permission.
Meanwhile, another man became embroiled in a bitter council row after being forced to destroy his £25,000 garden – or face going to prison.
Plus, one homeowner who forked out £100,000 on a luxury treehouse was “heartbroken” after being told he could have to remove it.
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