AFTER years of legal wrangling the council have ordered a farmer to strip an outbuilding he illegally made in to a £1 million house right under the nose of planning officials.
The saga of Barker Farm stretches back to 1987, when landowner Len Barker, 60, built a large outhouse which he claimed to council officers he intended to use as a dairy barn.
Mr Barker then secretly transformed the barn in to a five bedroom house, which was valued at £1 million.
The hidden home lay undiscovered for four years, and when Epping Forest District Council officers found out about it Mr Barker was able to take advantage of a loophole in the law which states that when a building has been in residential use for four years it gains automatic, retrospective planning permission.
There was outrage as residents claimed Mr Barker was flouting the law but the council were powerless to act.
But in a recent trial involving Hertfordshire County Council, Supreme Court judges decided that in cases where someone has intentionally deceived planning officers, the retrospective planning rule can be overturned and the district council have now issued Mr Barker with two planning enforcement notices, requiring him to strip the outbuildings of bathrooms, staircases and even flower beds.
Mr Barker has issued appeals against both the notices to the Planning Inspectorate, who arbitrate in planning disputes, and also issued an earlier appeal against the district council’s earlier delay in making a final decision on how they intended to proceed.
Mr Barker said: “I do not know what they are playing at. It depends how you define residential use.
“People in Epping should be aware that though the council can give you planning permission, they can also take that permission away.
“In the past the council have used unethical methods to stop me from gaining planning permission.”
Epping Forest District Council leader Lesley Wagland said: “We have opposed this development on the grounds of the change in the law based on the Supreme Court decision that if someone misleads a local authority that can be grounds for withdrawing planning permission.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel